Symbol link between India and France, the three-day state visit that began Sunday in India by the President of the Republic François Hollande, the second since the beginning of the quinquennium, started Chandigarh, the city designed by French architect Le Corbusier. Sixty years after its conception, the city remains one of the greener, less polluted and less crowded India. An inspiration for the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who wants to develop a hundred of “smart cities” to anticipate the rapid urbanization of its population. Urban density is expected to swell to more than 220 million people over the next fifteen years and needs for investment in infrastructure to scale. They are so important that India must at all costs to attract foreign investment for fear that eventually its electricity deficits, transportation, urban services will hinder the growth of the country. With a rate of 7.5%, India today shows the best performance of all emerging countries.
This is why the President has invited almost all the Cac 40 to accompany him to his State visit of three days, to be completed by January 26 the military parade of the “Republic Day”, the national holiday that celebrates the founding of the Republic in 1950. Among them were the owners of all groups interested in selling fighter aircraft Rafale, Eric Trappier, CEO Dassault Aviations Patrice Caine (Thales), through MBDA and Safran. But upon his arrival, President Francois Hollande has dampened any hopes of a rapid conclusion of the negotiations, although in April, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in Paris will soon buy 36 Rafales key in hand. “The negotiations are progressing and we will take the next step, which is in line, we all hope, the acquisition by India of 36 Rafale” , he said down the plane. The President wishes to conclude today an inter-governmental agreement between India and France, so hat agreement that will oversee the parameters of the trade negotiations.
This Agreement State to State, a document of about 150 pages, is a fundamental step to remove any ambiguity about the use of sensitive technologies. In the presence of the Indian Prime Minister, Francois Hollande seemed impatient, insistent: “behind the exchange of our defense industry, it is also to link two of the largest democracies to act for the security of the world” . New Delhi wants to obtain guarantees on the amount of counterparties (offset) and requires that they reach 50% of the value of the future contract, valued between 6 and 10 billion euros. India wants the most sophisticated devices, but the best price, the announcement of long negotiations … In Chandigarh, several projects were initiated on the sustainable city. France has to be a pilot in three of the 100 “smart cities”: Chandigarh, Pondicherry and Nagpur. Several cooperation agreements in solar technologies were signed, India wishing to develop up to 100 gigawatts of solar power by 2020. Recognising India for not having blocked the Paris climate agreement while the country has always attributed the climate responsibility to developed countries, the President will inaugurate on Monday, the International Solar Alliance, the project defended by Narendra Modi to equip poor countries in solar energy.
(Special correspondent in Chandigarh)
No comments:
Post a Comment