Two large defense deals in the pipeline between India and France are being finalized, amid expectations that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Paris in February for the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit to be hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, Report informs via The Hindu.
The deals, together worth over $10 billion, will include the purchase of 26 Rafale-M fighter jets for the Indian Navy’s aircraft carriers, and three additional Scorpene-class conventional submarines. The two deals are expected to be put before the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) for approval in the next couple of weeks, sources said.
“The expectation is that PM Modi will visit Paris to attend the AI Summit and will also have a bilateral component. So both sides are working to tie up the two deals which are in the final stages of conclusion,” an informed source said. This was also independently confirmed by other sources.
The French President’s office has already announced that Mr. Modi has been invited for the Artificial Intelligence Summit scheduled to be held on February 10 and 11. France said the gathering will focus on concrete actions to ensure that the global AI sector can drive beneficial social, economic and environmental outcomes in the public interest.
In response to a question from The Hindu at his annual press conference last month, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi said that both the deals are in the final stage and could be completed next month. “It is just a matter of completing the formalities of the acquisition process and we expect that if not this month, next month, hopefully, this [Scorpene submarine] and the Rafale-M deal should be signed,” he had said.
On the Rafale-M deal, the Navy chief had said it was “one level short of taking it to the CCS (Cabinet Committee on Security)” for clearance, which will be followed by the signing of the contract. As it is a government-to-government deal, it is expected to be implemented quickly.
The deal for three Scorpene submarines is a repeat order to the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, which is building them in partnership with the Naval Group of France. Of the six submarines from the earlier contract, five have been inducted. The last one, Vagsheer, is set to be commissioned on January 15 at Mumbai, in the presence of Mr. Modi, along with two other frontline platforms.