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Gen Malik visits Paris to take bilateral defence relations forward

Ranvir Nayar in Paris

Chief of the Army Staff and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General V P Malik arrives in Paris today (Monday) for a five-day official visit to France, the first visit by an Indian General to this country.

General Malik is visiting on the invitation by his French counterpart, General Jean Pierre Kelche who had visited India in February last.

During his visit, General Malik is expected to hold wide ranging discussions with the top leaders of the French defence forces. He is also expected to meet with the French defence minister and visit some major bases of the French military. These include the Toulon naval base and the Orange air force base.

Observers say Malik's visit is extremely crucial for the development of a strong relationship between the defence forces of the two countries. So far, unlike the highly developed bilateral political relationship, there have not been any sustained multilevel contacts between the armed forces of the two countries. The two generals are expected share their views on strategic concepts and operational matters to see when they can move ahead. The two will also examine the issues of bilateral cooperation in view of Indian and French troops working together in the United Nations Peace Keeping Forces.

The Indian general is also expected to discuss with his French counterpart the French experience of a Joint Chiefs of Staff. This is expected to be especially useful for the Indian defence forces as the French have a lot of experience in a Joint Chiefs of Staff command structure and their experiences could help the Indian forces.

The two generals will also discuss several regional and international security issues and exchange ideas on the views held by the two countries on these strategic issues.

``The Indo-French political relations have been excellent over the last two years. Our relations in defence area should now match the level of the political relation. The visit of the Chief of Army Staff should help achieve that objective. A stronger defence relationship will help better promote a multi-polar world, a concept that both India and France are committed to,'' Kanwal Sibal, Indian ambassador to France, told rediff.com in Paris recently.

Indo-French defence relations, which are fairly extensive in the air force and navy, have been exceptionally low in the army. However, that may change over time as the Indian army looks for technologies to modernise its platforms and to add more power. France does posses technologies like advanced radar and communication equipment which could interest India. However, it is learnt that the issues will not figure in the forthcoming visit by General Malik.

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