New Delhi, February 19 Days after India decided to procure 114 Rafale fighter jets from France, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that "Make in India" will be a "core" component of the program.
He also said that France is looking at expanding cooperation with India on submarines.
The French president was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the AI Impact summit.
"We have not just a strategic partnership, we have a special global strategic partnership that is unique for both India and France," he said, responding to a question.
India and France elevated their relations to a "special global strategic partnership" on Tuesday, following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Macron in Mumbai.
The French president said that the two sides are expanding their cooperation in a range of areas, including defense, innovation, and trade.
In response to a question about the Rafale procurement program, he said that France wants to improve cooperation in the areas of maintenance and capacity building.
A few days ago, India confirmed its willingness to procure a new batch of Rafale... and "Make in India" will be a core aspect of it, he said.
"This is a new step forward to clearly consolidate the existing cooperation," he said.
In its largest-ever defense acquisition push, India last week cleared the long-pending proposal to procure 114 Rafale fighter jets under a government-to-government framework with France.
Under the Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) project, 18 aircraft will be supplied by Dassault Aviation, the maker of Rafale, in a fly-away condition, and the rest will be manufactured in India with around 50 per cent indigenous content, which will be met in phases, according to people familiar with the matter.
The move to procure the jets comes at a time when the number of the Indian Air Force's fighter squadrons has gone down to 31 from the officially sanctioned strength of 42.
In 2015, the Modi government announced a government-to-government framework to procure 36 Rafale fighters. The Indian Air Force is now operating these jets.
Last year, the Indian Navy sealed a ₹64,000 crore deal to procure 26 marine variants of the Rafale jet.
France is also looking at finalising a program to build three Scorpene submarines. The submarines are proposed to be jointly constructed by state-run Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) and French defense major Naval Group.
Under the Indian Navy's Project 75, six Scorpene submarines have already been constructed by Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) in collaboration with the Naval Group.
