India France discuss Rafale deal and Af-Pak situation
Rs
50,000 crore deal for supplying 126 Rafale combat aircraft and the
security situation in the Af-Pak region are understood to have been
discussed during the Defence Minister-level talks between India and
France in New Delhi on Friday.
During the around 90-minute meeting between Defence Minister A K Antony
and his visiting French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian, the two sides
are believed to have flagged the ongoing military hardware cooperation
including the Rafale combat aircraft deal.
The one-on-one meeting with Antony, Le Drian briefed the Indian side on
the French white paper on defence and national security released April
last year, officials said.
They said such a briefing had earlier been held by France only for two
countries - the United Kingdom and the US.No contract will be signed by
the two sides during this visit of the French Defence Minister, who had
come to India with the French President in February this year.The Rs
30,000-crore Maitri surface-to-air missile defence system is also
understood to have been discussed at the meeting between the two
sides.The 126 medium-multirole combat aircraft deal is the biggest focus
of the two sides at the moment.
India has been treading cautiously on the contract, which would be the
biggest-ever defence deal for the country in case it is signed.
Both sides are keen to conclude the negotiations for the project at the
earliest but the possibility of signing it by the end of this year looks
bleak against the backdrop of a weak rupee and the complexity of the
contract.
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