In a landmark decision on boosting the “ground-breaking” bilateral defence cooperation, India and France on Friday announced they will be jointly developing a combat aircraft engine. The announcement was made following bilateral talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron.
“A road map on this project will be prepared between Safran and DRDO before the end of this year,” the joint statement issued after bilateral talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron said. “They also support industrial cooperation for motorization of heavy-lift helicopters under the IMRH programme with Safran Helicopter Engine, France. To enable progress on the IMRH programme, a Shareholders’ Agreement between HAL, India and Safran Helicopter Engine, France has been concluded for engine development.”
“Defence cooperation has been a strong pillar of our ties. It is a symbol of deep mutual trust between the two countries. France is an important partner in Make in India and self-reliant India,” Mr. Modi said at the joint press statement along with French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of the bilateral talks at Elysee Palace.
Both countries are also working towards adopting a road map on Defence Industrial Cooperation and in view of the uptick in defence industrial collaborations India is setting up a Technical Office of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at its embassy in Paris, the statement said.
In a significant decision, India and France on Friday decided to extend their ground-breaking defence cooperation in advanced aeronautical technologies by supporting the joint development of a combat aircraft engine. A roadmap on this project will be prepared between French company Safran and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) before the end of this year.
They also decided to support industrial cooperation for motorization of heavy-lift helicopters under the Indian Multi Role Helicopter (IMRH) programme with Safran Helicopter Engine.
PM Modi spoke about terrorism, saying that India and France are together in the fight against terrorism. “We believe that strong action needs to be taken against cross-border terrorism,” he said.
He also said the two countries have agreed to launch India’s Unified Payment Interface in France.
The Prime Minister also announced that India would open a new consulate in the port town of Marseilles.