Global Indian News
Amid persisting differences over the price of 36 Rafale fighter jets India has agreed to buy from France, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has underlined that he will try to extract the best deal and save money for the nation.
Read MoreIndia had signed an inter-governmental pact with France to buy 36 Rafale fighters but the price negotiations are still on. The deal is estimated to be around $9billion for the …
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Ending all speculation about the signing of the Rafale agreement during his visit, France’s President Francois Hollande’s has clarified that the deal was “progressing,” but it will be only signed …
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India and France forged strategic partnership in 1998, which has steadily expanded to include a host of new areas. Defence cooperation forms the bedrock of this vital relationship. In this interview with Manish Chand, Editor-in-Chief, India Writes Network (www.indiawrites.org), Mr Rakesh Sood, India’s former ambassador to France, speaks about the prospects of the mammoth Rafale deal, possibilities of bilateral cooperation in the crucial Indian Ocean region and how the burgeoning strategic ties are complemented by cultural bonding.
(Excerpts from the interview)
Q) France is betting big on the Rafale deal. Do you see a closure of this deal in the near future do you think that the Modi-Hollande meeting will give the political push for the closure of the deal?
A) I am quite sure the prime minister’s meeting in Paris with the French president will give the push. These negotiations have been going on for sometime; understandably these are some complex negotiations and we are also moving into new areas on life cycle costing and so on, which are a new experience for us. And there can’t be a bigger political push than a summit-level meeting between the prime minister and the president.