India, France approve defense industrial ‘roadmap’; Airbus, Tata agree on helicopter deal
[ad_1]
Following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron, the two countries approved an ambitious defense industrial ‘roadmap’ to develop critical military hardware, while Airbus S.E. and Tata Advanced Systems Limited agreed to jointly manufacture the H125 helicopter. Announcing the outcome of the Modi-Macron talks in Jaipur on Thursday, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra also said that there is a plan to send professionals in the age group of 18 to 35 years to each other’s countries and Indians who have completed post-graduate degrees. One of the main decisions is to issue a Schengen visa for students with a validity of five years. Kwatra said at the press conference that the two sides discussed various aspects to advance civil-nuclear energy cooperation and had very positive, forward-looking talks on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs).
He said that apart from exchanging views on the conflict in Gaza, Modi and Macron also discussed the situation in the Red Sea and “potential disruptions” arising from it. However, no announcement was made on India’s proposed purchase of 26 naval variants of Rafale fighter jets and three Scorpene submarines from France as prices for the billion-dollar deals are understood to be still under negotiation. The two sides also signed an agreement on Defense Space Partnership, which will facilitate joint work on the Space Situational Awareness Programme, which is considered important for developing military satellites and sharing information on space traffic and debris. The Foreign Secretary said Tata and Airbus Helicopters have entered into an industrial partnership for joint production of H125 helicopters in India with significant “indigenization and localization component”.
Under the partnership, Airbus S.E. An ‘assembly line’ is going to be set up in India for the production of helicopters. Macron was the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations on Friday while on duty. The French President began his two-day visit to India from Jaipur with a delegation of senior ministers, officials and top executives of major French defense companies, including Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury. Kwatra said the defense roadmap will provide technology cooperation in the areas of air, space, maritime domain awareness, land warfare, robotics, cyber defence, artificial intelligence as well as autonomous vehicles and platforms. Both sides also signed agreements to enhance partnership in the areas of health care, education, training and research. Kwatra said that it has been agreed that the year 2026 will be celebrated as the India-France Year of Innovation.
“The ongoing conflict in Gaza and its various dimensions, including terrorist, humanitarian and disinformation dimensions, were discussed and the two leaders shared their views,” he said. “Naturally, the potential disruption and disruption to commercial shipping there is indeed a matter of grave concern and something both leaders focused on. New Space India Limited (NSIL) and French space agency Arianespace signed an MoU for cooperation in satellite launches. Quatra said that the French side has always supported India’s candidature for membership of the International Energy Agency (IAEA). Both strategic partners also committed to cooperate in co-development and co-production of advanced defense technologies.
Disclaimer: IndiaTheNews has not edited this news. This news has been published from PTI-language feed.
[ad_2]
Source link
