News Analysis India

Tag: Emmanuel Lenain

  • Delivery of Rafale jets to India will be completed by April 2022: French envoy

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Thirty Rafale fighter jets manufactured by French firm Dassault Aviation have been delivered to India so far and the remaining six will be handed over by April 2022 as part of an inter-governmental agreement signed five years ago, Ambassador of France Emmanuel Lenain said on Thursday.

    He said it is a matter of pride for France that despite the COVID-19 pandemic which forced factories to close down for weeks, it was able to deliver the aircraft on time.

    “In France, teams have been working extra shifts. They have been working nights and weekends sometimes to be able to fulfil the commitment. That is what trust is about.”

    “As of today, 29 (jets) have been ferried to India and 30 have been delivered to India. We are fully on time and we are going to reach the target of having all 36 delivered by April of next year,” Lenain said.

    ALSO READ | BJP-Congress slugfest on new Rafale pay-off report

    The envoy said India and France have been cooperating for decades in the field of defence.

    Fighter jets are first handed over to the Indian Air Force in France and they are later flown to India.

    The first batch of five Rafale jets arrived in India on July 29 last year.

    In 2016, India and France signed an inter-governmental agreement under which Paris is to provide 36 Rafale fighter jets to New Delhi.

    The Rs 58,000-crore deal invited criticism from the opposition, particularly the Congress which has alleged financial irregularities while procuring the fighter jets.

    ​ALSO READ | Operation cover-up by Modi government in Rafale deal once again exposed: Congress

    The Centre has repeatedly denied any financial irregularity in purchase of the multi-role combat aircraft.

    French investigative portal Mediapart, in fresh revelations, has alleged bogus invoices were used that enabled Dassault Aviation to pay at least 7.5 million euros in secret commissions to a middleman to help it secure the Rafale deal with India.

    When asked about the recent revelations by Mediapart, the French envoy declined to comment.

    Lenain was speaking during his visit to the French navy’s air defence destroyer ‘Chevalier Paul’, which arrived in Mumbai on Thursday.

    The Chevalier Paul, a Horizon-class air defence destroyer, is currently deployed in the Indian Ocean as part of France’s permanent military presence in the region.

    Defence is an important pillar of the India-France relationship and the two countries have been cooperating for decades now, Lenain said.

    “It (the port call of the ship to Mumbai) is a nice symbol of our joint commitment to ensure security and freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region,” he added.

  • Rafale deliveries to India ahead of schedule, says French Ambassador Lenain

    By PTI

    HYDERABAD: Aerospace major Dassault Aviation is expected to deliver all 36 Rafale jets well before the schedule despite lockdown for a few days to contain the spread of COVID-19 in France, French Ambassador to India Emmanuel Lenain said on Friday.

    Speaking on the sidelines of the fourth edition of Indo-French Investment Conclave here, organised by the Indo-French Chamber of Commerce & Industry (IFCCI), Lenain said firms belonging to the European country have invested over 10 Billion Euros in India providing employment to 2.50 lakh Indians.

    “It ( delivery of aircraft) will be ahead of the schedule. We are very proud of that. In spite of Covid it has not been disturbed at all on the contrary,” the envoy said.

    India had signed an inter-governmental agreement with France in September 2016 for the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of around Rs 58,000 crore.

    The first batch of five Rafale jets arrived in India on July 29 last year “The factory producing Rafale was closed (during lockdown). We had a commitment to India. After the lockdown teams worked extra shifts working nights and weekends to make sure that these planes were delivered on time. And so right now Dassault has delivered to India 29 and 26 have already been ferried to India,” he said.

    Describing the recent developments in Afghanistan as “worrying” , the Ambassador said some of the countries including France have asked the Taliban regime to allow free flow of humanitarian assistance to the beleaguered country besides not to provide shelter for terrorists.

    “Today they have not fulfilled any and that is deeply worrying. They can’t ask us any form of recognition until they fulfilled some of these commitments,” he further said.

    On the Indo-French trade, the Ambassador said the trade volumes are not big as most of the companies from his country prefer investing in India rather than exporting.

    “We are doing local investment a lot. So far French companies have invested more than 10 Billion Euros in India and it is going very fast and they are employing 250,000 Indians,” he explained.

    In 2020, the India-France bilateral trade stood at 9.04 billion euros (-21.99 per cent) as compared to the previous year.

    India’s exports to France were valued at 4.80 billion euros, down by 22.9 per cent during this period.

    Indian imports from France also decreased by 20.95 per cent to 4.23 billion euros, according to Indian official figures.