New Delhi--India's multi-billion-dollar deal to buy 36 fighter jets from France will cement strategic political ties between the two countries at a time when both are looking to kickstart their economies, experts say.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his first trip to France, said Friday he had ordered the 36 "ready-to-fly" Rafale jets as part of a push to modernise his country's ageing warplane fleet.
The announcement put to rest intense speculation over the fate of the contract, which was first signed in 2012 but had been bogged down by questions of cost and New Delhi's insistence on assembling a portion of the high-tech planes in India.
It also comes as Modi is seeking to curry up interest from investors during his maiden trip to Europe, where he is seeking to rewrite India's reputation as a tricky place to do business.
"Such major deals are never purely commercial, they are a part of a larger government strategy," Mrinal Sumant, a retired army major general and procurement specialist, told AFP.
"It's a decision based on the geopolitical and strategic interests of the two countries."
India, which has long been the world's largest buyer of defence equipment, is in the midst of a multi-billion-dollar upgrade of its Soviet-era military hardware in the face of antagonistic neighbours Pakistan and China.
Several Western countries have been courting New Delhi for big-ticket military contracts as it goes on a defence shopping spree.
But the win is particularly important for France, which is struggling with anaemic growth, sky-high unemployment and an enormous debt pile. The new deal is expected to earn manufacturer Dassault over five billion euros ($5.3 billion) -- its biggest-ever international order.
Perhaps more important is a touted contract for French nuclear giant Areva to install six reactors in India's western state of Maharashtra, an agreement which is still waiting for approval five years after a bilateral civil nuclear accord.
French President Francois Hollande said he was "deeply moved" by the jets sale and that it would take the partnership between the two countries "into a new gear".
"The equipment (jets) now carries a certain sovereign guarantee which is very reassuring (for India)," said Sumant.
"The deal will go a long way in strengthening their ties and the positives would overflow into other sectors as well."
AFP
