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Asked about the difference between France's relationships

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Press Trust of India
with India and China, which also has civil nuclear cooperation with French government, Hollande said, "With China we have cooperation in civil nuclear field but here in India, as I was saying, we have for defence material and defence equipments, (we have) the will to supply our technology in certain conditions without fearing the use that can be made of it. "We have confidence in India which is a peaceful power and at the same time wishes to defend, control its security and which spends substantial amount of its budget to this end. So, therefore, we must provide as we have always best equipment, material to Indian partner," he said, adding "is there a difference between India and China in the defence equipment field. Yes, because we are not in the same situation." In the security and counter terrorism fields, India and France are determined to support each other when facing this scourge, a joint statement said. "The two sides recognised that terrorism poses the main threat to Afghanistan's security and stability, as well as the need for joint concerted efforts and cooperation by countries of the region to effectively counter it, including dismantling terrorist sanctuaries and safe havens beyond Afghanistan's border, disrupting financial and tactical support being provided to terrorist groups," it said. Both sides agreed that Pakistan must abide by its commitment to expeditiously bring all the perpetrators of Mumbai terror attacks to justice, the statement said. Both leaders also reiterated their strong support for ongoing efforts aimed at defeating terrorism in Mali, preserving Mali's territorial integrity, re-establishing a fully sovereign democratic government in Mali, and to contributing strongly to Mali's national reconstruction and sustainable economic development. MORE

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First Published: Feb 14 2013 | 8:45 PM IST

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