Paris: A day after India proposed to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets from France, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday is scheduled to pay homage to the thousands of Indian soldiers killed in WWI at a memorial in the French city of Lille during his visit to France.
According to reports, later in the day, PM Modi will visit Toulouse, in southern France, where he will go to the Airbus facility and discuss ways of further cooperation, including in transfer of technology and investments.
In Toulouse, he will also visit the French space centre CNES or the National Centre for Space Studies, where the two sides will examine further cooperation in the area of space.
PM Modi will then return to Paris and attend a reception by the Indian community and also meet former French president Nicolas Sarkozy.
He will also visit a trade fair and then depart on Sunday for Germany.
Yesterday, PM Modi met French President Francois Hollande at the Elysee Palace here and the two leaders discussed issues of mutual interest.
During the course of the talks, the French president also expressed shock at the release of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi from a Pakistani jail.
In a major fillip for India-France ties, India said it will buy 36 Rafale fighter jets in fly-away condition as both sides also pushed for early conclusion of techno-commercial talks on the Jaitapur nuclear power plant and inked 17 agreements, including in the field of civil nuclear energy, railways and space, and three Letters of Intent, as PM Narendra Modi held talks with French President Francois Hollande here.
The Rafale deal was the biggest takeaway in the talks between Modi and Hollande. India had shortlisted Rafale, made by Dassault Aviation, in a $20-billion deal for purchase of 126 fighter jets for the MMRCA project in 2012. However, the final deal has not been inked.
Hollande said their ties in civil nuclear energy, sustainable energy and defence and the desire to acquire 36 Rafale jets show the partnership has moved to new stage of cooperation.
PM Modi, later, also went on a boat ride on the Seine river with Hollande and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius after conclusion of their talks.
On the pressing global challenge of climate change, PM Modi, earlier in the day, extended his full support to France for a successful outcome of CoP 21 to UNFCCC to be held in Paris later this year.
He was accorded a ceremonial welcome in the morning, yesterday, after which PM Modi attended two back-to-back meetings with CEOS where 'Make in India' was the focus.
He also visited the Unesco headquarters in Paris where he spoke of the Indian government's commitment to ensure that every citizen, faith, culture and creed has an equal place in society.
PM Modi arrived in France on Thursday on the first leg of his three-nation tour, which will also take him to Germany and Canada.
(With Agency inputs)
No comments:
Post a Comment