Rafale Talks with France Advance, Focus on Local Manufacturing, Says Vikram Misri

Talks

between India and France on the Rafale fighter jet programme have advanced, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Sunday, while underlining New Delhi's push for greater local content and local manufacturing in defence cooperation. Briefing reporters after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron, Misri said the Rafale programme figured in the discussions between the two leaders.He said the Modi-Macron talks covered the entire range of bilateral relations, including civil nuclear energy, defence, security, space, trade and investment, technology, innovation, education, mobility and people-to-people ties.

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In response to a question on the Rafale programme, Misri said, "Talks between the two countries have advanced." He further said Prime Minister Modi has been pushing for taking forward the "Make in India" initiative as well as a framework of "co-development, co-design, co-production" in defence projects."There were talks on Rafale and other issues in today's discussions but I will say the underlying theme was that in case of any defence platform we will move forward on the basis that there should be maximum local content, local manufacturing and our cooperation should be designed keeping this in mind," said Misri.The remarks came as India and France continue to deepen cooperation across a range of sectors, with defence remaining one of the key pillars of the strategic partnership between the two countries.