French President Concludes Visit to India with Bilateral Agreements on Defence, Education and Nuclear Cooperation
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French president Nicolas Sarkozy concluded his visit to India on Saturday (26 January) by signing five bilateral agreements on defence, nuclear research and consular and development cooperation. His 300 member delegation also concluded 10 business deals and over 20 agreements with educational institutions. Both states announced a target for tripling bilateral trade to 10 million euro (US$17.6 million) by 2012, while France committed to investing 10 billion euro in India over the next four years. Sarkozy also reiterated France’s support for India’s bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council and the G-8. He was also the guest of honour at India’s Republic Day parade. Meanwhile, French company Dassault Aviation was awarded a contract for 1.5 million euro to upgrade 51 Mirage-2000 aircraft that were purchased by the Indian Air Force in 1985. The company has also proposed selling its Rafale fighter to India.
France is India’s third-largest arms supplier after Russia and Israel.Significance: France has attempted to appeal to India’s independent and traditionally non-aligned foreign policy mindset by demonstrating its potential as an alternative to the United States for civilian nuclear and military cooperation. Notably, France is competing for India’s US$10 billion tender for 126 multi-role combat aircraft, which closes in March. Following the loss of the 410 million euro Eurocopter deal last month (see India: 7 December 2007: ), the new agreements serve as some consolation. India’s attempts to diversify its imports of military hardware beyond Russia, which currently accounts for 70% of its military inventory, is likely to be a boon for France. Nonetheless, the growing strategic partnership between India and the United States is likely to make the latter the preferred source of arms imports. India’s growing civilian aviation market is also likely to be of growing interest to France.
Filed by Egor Ouzikov under Development, Arms Control, Proliferation and WMD