French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s India visit helped strengthen Indo-French relationship on nuclear, defence, economic and strategic cooperation

India is probably far greater and stronger than even it probably realises,” said French President Nicolas Sarkozy during his four-day-long visit to India and added that he expected the rupee to emerge one day as a world currency. The big powers seem to have well understood that a strategic partnership with India is mutually beneficial and doing business with the world’s second largest emerging economy would be immensely valuable. “India is, first and foremost, a major political partner and an indispensable power without which we cannot rise to the major challenges the world faces,” said Sarkozy. The French President’s India tour was his first to a G-20 state since France took over the Presidency of the group. It came after US President Barack Obama and UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s recent visit. The French President’s trip will soon be followed by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s visit as well.

France, which is a world leader in civilian nuclear technology exports, has always supported India's right to nuclear power. The French head of the state’s India visit further solidified the bilateral relationship between the two countries. Several agreements in the civil nuclear power sector including a framework agreement to construct two civil nuclear plants in Jaitapur, Maharashtra costing €7 billion (Rs. 41,600 crore) were signed. Plans to come up with four nuclear power plants, all by French nuclear giant Areva, at a total cost of $25 billion (Rs. 1,12,500 crore) are also afoot.

Sarkozy, who lobbied on behalf of French companies multi billion-dollar Indian contracts for fighter jets and nuclear technology, was accompanied by a high-powered delegation of seven ministers and 70 Chief Executive Officers, including the heads of aircraft-makers Dassault Aviation and EADS, and the state-controlled nuclear group Areva. Both countries signed a €2 billion (Rs. 11,800 crore) deal for joint missile development. In the civil aviation sector, Airbus Industrie signed separate deals to lease A330 aircraft to Jet Airways and Air India, at a total cost of €2.8 billion (Rs. 16,600 crore).