Rajnath Singh says the India-France Strategic Partnership is more important than ever

Rajnath Singh, the defence minister of India, said that the strategic partnership between the two countries is more important than ever and that both sides are eager to take it to “newer heights” as they discussed the possibility of working together in specialized fields like cyberspace and artificial intelligence.

On Wednesday night in Paris, during the fifth annual India-France Defence Dialogue, Singh and French Minister of Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu had comprehensive discussions with an emphasis on fostering defense industrial collaboration.

 

“The two ministers discussed a wide range of topics from the assessment of regional situation to the ongoing military-to-military engagements, with a focus on enhancing defence industrial cooperation,” the defense ministry said on Thursday.

 

Singh rated his encounter with Lecornu as “excellent” in a post on X.

 

“Had an excellent meeting with the French Minister for the Armed Forces, Mr. Sebastien Lecornu in Paris,” Singh said.

 

“The strategic connection between France and India has grown over time and is more important than ever. We look forward to expanding our collaboration, he added.

 

According to the ministry, Singh and Lecornu discussed ways to strengthen cooperation between the defense industry of the two nations while also reviewing current defense projects.

 

“They also discussed potential collaboration in niche domains such as space, cyber and artificial intelligence,” the statement said.

 

On Wednesday, Singh traveled to a Safran jet engine production plant in the vicinity of Paris to see the most recent advancements in aero-engine technology.

 

Given that Safran is considering working with India on a large-scale project to co-develop a fighter aircraft engine, his visit to the Gennevilliers site took on added importance.

 

Additionally, Singh spoke with a group of CEOs from leading French defense firms and outlined to them the “advantages” of co-developing and co-producing defense equipment in India, which he said might be sold to other nations.

 

According to the defense ministry, Singh saw the most recent advancements in aero-engine technology while visiting the Safran Engine Division’s R & D Center in Gennevilliers, close to Paris.

 

The previous several years have seen an increase in India and France’s defense and strategic relations.

 

The combined development of helicopter and jet engines as well as the building of three Scorpene submarines for the Indian Navy were just a few of the ground-breaking defense cooperation initiatives that India and France unveiled in July.

 

The two key partners also committed to working together on the co-development and co-production of cutting-edge defense technology, including for third-party nations.