During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day trip to Paris, India made a significant announcement on Thursday July 13. The announcement involved a new deal worth billions of dollars for the purchase of French fighter jets. This visit coincides with France’s national day celebrations, where Prime Minister Modi is being honored as the guest of honor.

India announced a new multi-billion-dollar deal for French fighter jets on Thursday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Paris for a two-day trip that will see him feted as guest of honour during France’s national day celebrations.

India’s defense ministry said that the country intended to order 26 more Rafale jets as well as another three Scorpene-class submarines, with the price and other terms still being worked out.

India is one of the biggest buyers of French arms, and Modi announced a landmark deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets during a 2015 trip to Paris that was worth around 4.0 billion euros at the time.

Some of those Indian-piloted Rafales will take part in a flypast on Friday during France’s Bastille Day military parade where Modi will sit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron as guest of honour.

Despite differences over the war in Ukraine and tensions over human rights in India, Western democracies are courting Modi and India as a counterweight to China in Asia.

Macron’s red carpet welcome comes weeks after Modi was given the rare honour of a White House state dinner in Washington, a city he was once banned from visiting.

Modi has visited France four times since Macron came to power in 2017, while Macron was honoured with a state visit to New Delhi in 2018.

Aides on both sides have talked up the personal chemistry between the two leaders and pointed to cooperation on climate change, space technology and nuclear power as part of a 25-year-old “strategic partnership” between France and India.

Many European and American businesses, including US tech giant Apple, are ramping up production there to mitigate the threat of supply chain disruptions from China.

Khalil Wakim, with AFP