Rajnath Singh To Co-Chair 4th Annual Defence Dialogue With French Counterpart

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will co-chair the 4th India-France Annual Defence Dialogue with the Minister of Armed Forces of the French Republic Sebastien Lecornu on his visit to India from 26 to 28 November.

The visiting French Minister shall also meet External Affairs Minister and the National Security Advisor. This is the first visit of Sebastien Lecornu as French Minister of Armed Forces to India. 

He is also scheduled to visit Headquarters Southern Naval Command at Kochi and see India's first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.

India and France have close and friendly relations. In 1998, the two countries entered into Strategic Partnership, marking the convergence of their views on a range of international issues apart from a close and growing bilateral relationship. 

India and France are partners in defence and armaments, contributing to India’s policy of strategic autonomy in the defence sector through numerous industrial cooperation.

Earlier, France delivered 36 Rafale fighter jets to India in a major defence deal. India also entered into a contract with a French firm to build six Scorpene submarines in India’s Malegaon dockyards through a technology-transfer arrangement in 2005.

The two countries also signed the Provision of Reciprocal Logistics Support Agreement. This agreement will help to facilitate the replenishment of fuel, rations, spares, and berthing and maintenance for the other nations’ warships, military aircraft and troops during routine port calls, as well as during Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR).