National Security Advisor Ajit Doval Thursday met his French counterpart, Emmanuel Bonne, Diplomatic Advisor to President Emmanuel Macron, firming up the agenda for the bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the French President even as both sides are expected to sign a mega deal on manufacturing jet engines in India.

Sharing details regarding the meeting between Bonne and Mr. Doval, French Embassy in India in a tweet stated, "E Bonne, Diplomatic Advisor to President Emmanuel Macron, held in-depth talks with NSA Ajit Doval to prepare for PM Narendra Modi's visit to France next week. Defence, energy, space, new technologies & more: we're working on an ambitious agenda for the India-France strategic partnership!"

The deal, which comes right after a similar US-India deal on GE’s F414 fighter jet engines pacts, is expected to be signed during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Paris next week. French defence conglomerate Safran is expected to go for full transfer of technology for its engines that will power India’s twin-engine advanced multi-role combat aircraft (AMCA) and the twin-engine deck-based fighter for the aircraft carriers, top-level sources.

The matter was discussed in detail during the Doval and Bonne Thursday meeting. Bonne also called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The prime minister is scheduled to embark on an official trip to France next week, during which he will attend the Bastille Day military parade on July 14. Bastille Day, celebrated annually on July 14, commemorates France’s national day. In May, the Ministry of External Affairs announced that Modi would participate in the parade as a guest of honour, while an Indian Armed Forces contingent would also take part.

Ahead of PM Modi's visit to France on its National Day, French Ambassador to India Emmanuel Lenain expressed the desire to have Indian troops participate in the parade and Indian Rafales in the sky to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the strategic partnership between the two nations.

India and France share a close alliance based on their common interests in combating terrorism and ensuring security in the Indo-Pacific region. The two countries enjoy deep political ties, to the extent that France refrains from providing weapons or platforms to India's adversaries in the northern and western neighborhoods.

In a gesture of collaboration, France has offered to co-develop and manufacture high-thrust engines in India for the future twin-engine combat aircraft developed by DRDO.

Additionally, France has expressed willingness to construct Scorpene submarines for other countries at Mazagon Dockyards Limited (MDL), aiming to prevent the current facility from stagnating due to a lack of orders, as it has successfully completed the Kalveri-class submarines under Project 75.

Furthermore, the French have proposed manufacturing high-end missiles and loitering ammunition in India under the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative.

While the Indian government has yet to make a final decision, the Indian Navy has recommended the acquisition of 26 Rafale-Maritime jet fighters (including eight trainers) for the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.

Image source: ABP live