As the Indian PM prepares for a lavish dinner at the Louvre with President Macron, New Delhi gives a nod to further purchases of jets and submarines
\nNew Delhi
\nIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in France for a two-day visit as New Delhi signalled that it would approve plans to buy French jets and submarines.
\nModi landed in Paris on Thursday at the invitation of President Emmanuel Macron, who has made the Indian leader a guest of honour at Bastille Day celebrations in the capital.
\nIndia will be part of a military parade on Friday, with the Indian air force performing a fly-past.
\nAhead of his departure, Modi said he was looking forward to holding wide-ranging discussions on taking forward a \u201clongstanding and time-tested partnership\u201d.
\nThe Hindu nationalist leader was welcomed at Orly airport near Paris by French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and met members of the Indian diaspora. Later, he is to attend a lavish dinner at the Louvre Museum with Macron.
\nAnalysts said that while France and India have differing positions on the Russia-Ukraine war, these views are unlikely to impact the foundations of their relationship.
\nManoj Joshi, a senior analyst at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation, told Al Jazeera that the visit will focus on India-France ties and is \u201cnot really aimed at the European situation\u201d.
\n\u201cThe differences between the Indian position and that of France is well known and is unlikely to be an issue,\u201d Joshi said.
\nFrance strongly supports Ukraine and has sent military aid to Kyiv while pressuring Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the conflict. By contrast, India has maintained a publicly neutral stance and snapped up Russian oil.
\nEven so, Joshi said Modi\u2019s visit will boost the pair\u2019s relationship.
\n\u201cFrance has a view of strategic autonomy which is much like that of India. As for the defence industry, again the relationship is old, and India is seeking to move it now from arms transfer and co-development to joint development of weapons and systems.\u201d
\nAs for France, Joshi believes Paris is looking to India \u201cas an important market for its high-tech industry\u201d.
\nNew defence deals
\nOn Thursday, the Indian body in charge of approving military acquisition gave a nod to the procurement of 26 Rafale fighter aircraft from France.
\nIndia\u2019s defence ministry added that the Defence Acquisition Council also gave an initial approval to the purchase of three additional Scorpene-class submarines.
\nIndia has been purchasing French military gear for decades, and the new deals are reportedly worth about $10bn
\nIndian security experts said defence acquisitions allow New Delhi to diversify its military hardware partners and reduce its dependency on ageing Russian military equipment.
\nFrom 2018 to 2022, France emerged as India\u2019s second largest arms supplier, accounting for 29 percent of imports, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
\nParth Satam, a foreign policy expert and editor at EurAsian Times, told Al Jazeera that unlike the United States, France will not try to persuade India to turn on Russia or pressure Modi to take a harder line on Moscow.
\n\u201c[France] knows India will stick to its neutral stand, and a joint statement, if there is one after PM Modi and President Macron meet, might not see a reference to Ukraine. India\u2019s individual statement will also continue to refer to the war as the \u2018Ukraine conflict\u2019.\u201d
\nSatam said India is likely seeking greater French participation in defence programmes that involve manufacturing within India.
\n\u201cThis includes \u2026 localisation of manufacturing defence aerospace components and devices,\u201d he said. \u201cSuch deals deliver greater benefits to Indian industry in terms of job creation and access to advanced military-scientific technology.\u201d
\nFrance is \u201cnot unwilling\u201d to make such deals, he added.
\nAccording to Christophe Jaffrelot, professor of Indian politics and sociology at the King\u2019s India Institute, the ties between India and France are \u201cdominated\u201d by security objectives.
\nIn the Indian Express, he wrote: \u201cOfficial narratives do emphasise structural affinities such as democratic like-mindedness, but what matters more are common, security-related interests.\u201d
\nAnother area in which India and France align is on China, Jaffrelot said, explaining that while Macron is concerned with \u201cChinese expansionism\u201d, India is \u201cequally worried about the growing influence of China in its neighbourhood\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As the Indian PM prepares for a lavish dinner at the Louvre with President Macron, New Delhi gives a nod to further purchases of jets and submarines New Delhi Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in France for a two-day visit as New Delhi signalled that it would approve plans to buy French jets […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":342925,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-342913","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n