Elisha Pulivarti from Washington DC
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Paris for a two day tour of France on July 13 and 14 may appear brief. But, it is significant in more ways than one. During his 48 hours power packed visit, the PM will not only celebrate a historic 25 years of partnership between India and France, but also lay road map for coming 25 years, till 2047, when the former hold its Independence centenary.
PM Modi was received by his counterpart, France Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne on Thursday. On the first day of his visit, Modi will chair a India-France CEOs forum, a business platform of the two countries. This forum is revived after a gap of five years. Modi will also meet Indian diaspora, which is a regular feature of his foreign tours. We know, a large number of Indians in France are meeting him on Thursday night diner.
On July 14, Friday, PM Modi will be received by French President Emmanuel Macron in a royal welcome. Modi will be the guest at the Bastille Parade, held as French National day. This Bastille Parade is like our Republic Day, where our armed power is showcased. Interestingly, Narenda Modi is the second foreign dignitary, after US president Donald Trump, to be present at this Bastille Day.
Bastille Day Parade occupies a special place in the hearts of people of France as it is on this day in 1789, Bastille prison was stormed by prisoners during the French Revolution. The ideals of Equality, Freedom and Fraternity of French revolution have greatly inspired Indian freedom movement too. In his write ups to French media on July 13, PM Modi said India-France ties will grow stronger in next 25 years.
Defence Deals wroth of 19 billion Euros
PM Modi will preside over signing of some important defene deals during his two day tour of France. Important among them are purchase of 26 Rafale fighter jets. Already, India bought 30 such jets in the past and will be acquiring more now to strengthen Indian Air Force. This deal is estimated at 5.5 billion Euros (6.14 billion US dollars).
India will also purchase three more Scorpene class submarines, These subs along with SCALP missiles will strengthen Indian Navy to a great extent. Like India’s defence deal with the US recently, these Scorpene subs will be manufactured at Mazagon Dockyards in Mumbai, with technology transfer, a deal estimated to be around 4 billion Euros (4.47 billion US dollars). 1 Euro is now trading at Rs 91.76, so you can calculate the worth of these deals.
There are other non-defence deals too. India will offer UPI (Unified Payments Interface) a digital payments system to France, a first country in Europe. Singapore is another country which subscribed to India’s UPI. France’s Lyra will be signing a project with India’s National Payment Corporation of India for this UPI subscription. India and France have a bilateral trade of around 17 billion US dollars now. India enjoys trade surplus with France.
(Elisha Pulivarti is CEO, US India SME Council, Washington DC, and writes for Excel India on international issues)
very informative report, mr elisha pulivarti