Atmanirbhar policy highlights defense collaborations with France, says India.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron will look to further enhance defence cooperation between India and France by focusing on co-development, co-designing and co-production of equipment and exploring ways to link this cooperation with India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat, the government said on Wednesday ahead of Modi’s departure for Paris.

★Modi will kick off his sixth visit to France, a long-standing strategic partner of India, on Thursday with a meeting with French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne before joining a private dinner that Macron will host for him in the evening at the Elysee Palace.

★Modi will be the ‘Guest of Honour’ at the Bastille Day Parade on July 14, where a tri-services Indian armed forces contingent would be participating. On the same day, Modi will hold formal talks with Macron who will host a state banquet later in the evening at the Louvre.

★The Prime Minister is also scheduled to meet the Presidents of the Senate and the National Assembly of France. He will separately interact with the Indian diaspora in France, CEOs of Indian and French companies, and prominent French personalities.

★The visit is likely to see substantive outcomes in defence, energy, space and also people-to-people cooperation with France looking to make it easier for Indian students to study in France.

★A deal for the purchase of 26 Rafale-M fighter jets by the Indian Navy is expected to be the most significant outcome, if it’s announced during the visit. The two countries are also likely to announce an agreement for jointly developing an aircraft engine in India.

★France has promised to support India’s Atmanirbhar initiative like no other country with more than considerable transfer of technology and proposals for co-development of next generation defence equipment.

★“It is natural that when two leaders meet, there will be discussions on how to take the defense cooperation between the two countries in the direction of co-production, code-signing, co-development, and how to align it with the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative,” said foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra ahead of the visit.

★Vinay Kwatra said the visit will be rich in “substance” and set new benchmark for strategic partnership between the two countries. He described the recent riots in several French cities as an “internal matter” and said that had no impact on the visit.

★On the 1,650MW nuclear power reactors in Jaitapur in Maharashtra, he said both sides are engaged in intense discussions to resolve all issues including those relating civil nuclear liability, cost and techno commercial matters.

★The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by defence minister Rajnath Singh is expected to give a go ahead to the major defence deals that are expected to be announced during Modi’s visit to Paris.

★“This year marks the 25th anniversary of the India-France Strategic Partnership, and Prime Minister’s visit will provide an opportunity to chart the course of the partnership for the future across diverse sectors such as strategic, cultural, scientific, academic and economic cooperation,” said the government in a statement.