The French Minister for the Armed Forces Florence Parly called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday.
PM Modi was briefed on the developments in bilateral defence cooperation between India and France by Parly.
PM Modi said that defence cooperation is one of the key pillars of the strategic partnership between India and France, and called for greater cooperation in the ‘Make in India’ framework in defence manufacturing and joint research & development.
The two leaders also discussed regional and global issues of mutual interest.
The Prime Minister said that he looks forward to receiving French President Macron in India at his earliest convenience.
French Defence Minister Florence Parly is on her maiden two-day official visit to India.
On Friday, Parly met Indian Defence MInister Nirmala Sitharaman and held wide-ranging talks aimed at further boosting defence and security ties, with a focus on co-development of military platforms, and enhancing cooperation in the maritime sphere.
Sitharaman and Parly deliberated on a host of key issues, including the regional security situation, transfer of critical technology for various defence projects and ways to ramp up overall strategic ties
The French Minister will conclude her India trip in Mumbai, with visits to Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) and the Western Naval Command.
At MDL shipyard, she will visit the yard where Scorpene submarines are being made in India with transfer of technology under the P75 project by MDL, India’s leading public sector shipbuilders, in collaboration with French shipbuilding major, Naval Group (formerly DCNS).
She will also board the INS Kalvari, the first of these six Scorpene submarines to have been delivered to the Indian Navy, an eloquent symbol of the close Indo-French strategic partnership.
(With agency inputs)