Rafale induction: Rajnath holds brief conversation with French defence minister

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a brief conversation with his French counterpart Florence Parly here on Thursday on ways to further boost bilateral defence cooperation. The talks took place at Palam Air Force station soon after Parly arrived on a day-long visit to participate in a ceremony in Ambala to mark formal induction of the first batch of Rafale aircraft into the Indian Air Force.

The French defence minister was also given a ceremonial guard of honour at the airport. Later, both Singh and Parly left for Ambala.

The first batch of five Rafale jets arrived in India on July 29, nearly four years after India signed an inter-governmental agreement with France to procure 36 of the aircraft at a cost of Rs 59,000 crore. Singh and Parly are scheduled to hold wide-ranging talks in Ambala after the Rafale induction ceremony.