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India has agreed to two big defence contracts with France ahead of a pomp-filled visit to Paris by prime minister Narendra Modi aimed at deepening trade and diplomatic ties to counter a rising China.
India’s defence ministry said in a statement on Thursday that it had given initial approval for the purchase of 26 Rafale fighter jets for its navy and three new Scorpène class submarines.
The contracts will deepen the countries’ longstanding co-operation on defence, which has made France the second-biggest arms supplier to India after Russia. India already has 36 Rafale jets made by Dassault Aviation in its air force, and six Scorpène submarines manufactured by France’s Naval Group.
The ties will also be on display at the Bastille Day parade on Friday when soldiers from India’s armed forces will parade down the Champs-Élysées, and Modi appears as French president Emmanuel Macron’s guest of honour.
Macron has made a particular effort to court Modi, hosting him on four occasions since 2017 in an illustration of how India has come to be seen as a prized diplomatic partner.
The pair will discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine and the rise of China during the two-day trip, a French official said, ahead of September’s G20 leaders’ summit to be hosted by India in New Delhi.
French senator Christian Cambon said Modi’s visit marked an “important moment” for the two countries, and underlined how they work together on security in the Indo-Pacific region where France has overseas territories.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of India and France’s strategic partnership, which has fostered collaboration on defence, energy, civil aviation and in space, with France helping India launch satellites.
The Indian ministry of defence said it still needed to negotiate with France over the price for the submarines and the Rafale-Marine jets, which are tailored for use on aircraft carriers, two of which India has in service. But the contracts will be a significant boost to the companies involved.
India’s previous Rafale order signed in 2015 was worth about €5bn and sought to upgrade its ageing air force fleet. All the jets have been delivered since 2020.
French engine maker Safran is also in the running to expand a venture with India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited created in 2022 that makes engines for army helicopters.
Dassault, Safran and Naval Group declined to comment.
The arms deals with India will not only boost the strength of the French defence sector, but also reinforce Macron’s push for “strategic autonomy” to reduce Europe’s reliance on outside powers such as the US.
Paris is also keen to maintain a presence in the Indo-Pacific via its navy and overseas territories, while it wants to court countries such as India that have not joined western sanctions against Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In a region that includes two French overseas departments, Paris and New Delhi already conduct joint naval patrols and surveillance flights.
“The French see themselves as a resident power in the Indian Ocean, with more than 1mn citizens in La Réunion and Mayotte, French soldiers stationed in Djibouti, and the second-largest special economic zone in the world,” said Christophe Jaffrelot, research director at Sciences Po in Paris and the author of Modi’s India.
“For India and France, at a time when China is expanding its influence in this part of the world, to join hands makes a lot of sense.”
Isabelle Saint-Mézard, a geopolitics professor at University of Paris 8, said India was “in some ways benefiting from the rivalry” between the US and China. “Both the US and France have realised that relations with China are going to be tense for a while, and they are seeking to keep India on side to deal with that,” she added.
Although India is non-aligned and emerged as a big buyer of Russian oil during the war in Ukraine, it has moved closer to the US against the backdrop of clashes along its northern border with China since 2020, and economic and tech rivalries with Beijing.
While in Washington, Modi presided over the signing of bilateral deals, including an agreement between General Electric and HAL to make jet engines in India.
For Modi, who was feted at a White House dinner and addressed Congress on a state visit to the US in June, the trip to Paris will be his second high-profile one in less than a month.
“It’s great that India is being courted by all the great powers, and it’s also true that Modi will use it to further his domestic agenda,” said Raji Rajagopalan, director of the Centre for Security, Strategy and Technology at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.
“With the 2024 election coming up, this visit will be used to say how well India is respected in the world.”
For Macron, the visit comes at a delicate time after riots broke out about two weeks ago, touched off by the fatal shooting by police of a 17-year-old. The French president has been keeping a low-profile domestically, and the government is worried that unrest could flare up around the July 14 holiday.
Campaign groups raised the question of whether Macron would bring up human rights issues with Modi, given concerns about New Delhi’s treatment of minority Muslims and Christians, and pressure on non-governmental organisations and journalists.
“It is very worrying that France is celebrating the values of liberty and equality with a leader who is heavily criticised for upending democracy in India,” wrote Philippe Bolopion of Human Rights Watch.
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