India, France discuss defence co-production, military exercises

At the annual defence dialogue on Monday in New Delhi, Defence Minister Mr. Rajnath Singh and his French counterpart, Mr. Sebastien Lecornu, placed a strong emphasis on defence industrial collaboration and "Make in India." As India and France consider potential future partnerships and co-production opportunities, several propositions are on the table.

The two sides noted convergences on a number of strategic topics, including shared concerns for the Indo-Pacific region, and also agreed to broaden and intensify bilateral military drills. After the conversation, Mr. Singh noted that "a wide variety of bilateral, regional, defence, and defence industrial cooperation topics were discussed."

According to officials, it was decided during the conference that technical groups from each nation would meet early the following year to advance the conversation on industrial cooperation. While many options are being discussed, the sharing of fighter jet engine technology, the manufacture of new submarines in India, and the provision of the Rafale combat aircraft's marine variant for a naval demand are the main areas for cooperation.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.