(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Visiting French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius yesterday said he was "very confident" of the outcome of his talks with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj here on the $20bn deal for the Rafale combat aircraf
Fabius, the first European minister to touch base with the new Indian government, will be meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley later yesterda
Addressing a press conference after talks with Sushma Swaraj, Fabius said both sides discussed the situation in violence-hit Ira
To a question on status of negotiations on the medium multirole combat aircraft (MMRCA) deal to acquire 126 of the French fighter jets, the French minister said the "developments were very positive" and he was "very confident of the final outcome
Fabius said France had "no particular concerns" about the Indian civil nuclear liability la
He said France was keen to push trade with India to take it beyond the $18 billion at present and also push bilateral investmen
"Trust and partnership" he said were two words signifying the bilateral relations between India and Franc
During his talks with Modi, the French foreign minister would also be extending an invite from President Francois Hollande to the Indian prime minister to visit Franc
The prime minister's official visit to France could be in September, when Modi visits New York for the UN General Assembly, Fabius sai
Fabius said France has "high ambition of the partnership" from the new Indian governmen
To push tourism between the two countries, from Jan 3, 2015, France will be putting in place a new visa issuing procedure that will ensure visa in less than two day
"This is an important step to strengthen tourism and exchanges between people," said Fabius, who is also looking after the tourism and trade portfoli
He also said his visit has come at a time when the India's PSLV rocket launched a French satellite into space from Sriharikota in Andhra Prades
The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C23) was carrying the 714-kg French Earth Observation Satellite 'SPOT-7' as the main payload besides satellites from Germany, Singapore and Canada
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