India and France have agreed to work together on the joint production of defence equipment including helicopters and submarines for the Indian armed forces and production for friendly countries, New Delhi said.
The deal was reached during a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attended a state banquet hosted by President Draupadi Murmu, the government said in a statement late on Friday.
Macron and Modi agreed to expand bilateral ties in defence production, nuclear energy, space research, and the use of artificial intelligence for public services like climate change, health, and agriculture, the statement said.
India’s Tata Group and France’s Airbus have signed an agreement to manufacture civilian helicopters together, Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said.
French jet engine maker CFM International also announced an agreement with India’s Akasa Air to buy more than 300 of its LEAP-1B engines to power 150 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.
Akasa Air previously ordered 76 aircraft powered by the engine, of which 22 are in use.
After Russia, France is the largest arms supplier to India, which has relied on its fighter jets for four decades.
