AFP/New Delhi

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian yesterday said talks over a $12bn deal to sell Rafale jets to India were progressing well and a new bilateral pact would underpin the deal.
India initially set a target of the end of last year to conclude the purchase of the 126 aircraft, one of the biggest ever defence deals, but deadlines have repeatedly slipped.
With India set to go to the polls for national elections in the first half of next year, experts believe that the chances of a speedy conclusion are dwindling.
“I will not be announcing the date for signing the contract but I would like you to know that the negotiations are going well and I have full confidence,” Le Drian told reporters during a trip to New Delhi.
He added that a “framework Indo-French inter-governmental agreement for this contract” would be signed which would “provide all the necessary guarantees of the French state”.
Dassault Aviation beat off stiff competition from six rivals from Russia, the US and Europe last year when India selected its state-of-the-art Rafale jet.
The huge, complicated contract would see the manufacture of the first 18 planes in France with the remainder to be produced under licence by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), a state-run Indian aerospace behemoth.
Dassault is reported to have reservations about the ability of HAL to produce the planes and its own financial liabilities in the event that the jets are not made up to standard.
The group said in February that it hoped to sign its first export contract this year for the aircraft, which has been in action in Afghanistan, Libya and Mali most recently.
Le Drian said he had discussed the Rafale deal with his Indian counterpart A K Antony in a meeting earlier yesterday. “I am not at all concerned about the delays (in signing the Rafale deal). I feel the pace of progress is perfectly normal for a project of this magnitude,” he said.
Rafale’s main rival, the Eurofighter made by European group EADS, has remained in India and is still hoping to win the deal in case Dassault is unable to conclude the negotiations successfully.
Dassault and the French government are in turn hoping that India’s choice will send a positive signal to other potential buyers of the Rafale, including Brazil, which is in the market for 36 planes, Canada, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates.
India is ranked as the world’s biggest importer of defence equipment, buying up to 80% of its weapons from overseas.