The French Envoy stated he is very proud to say that the first batch of Rafale is reaching Indian soil
In the evening, officials said all five Rafales landed safely in Al Dhafra airbase in the UAE after a sortie in excess of seven hours
Rajnath called the French Minister of Armed Forces Florence Parly and the two leaders agreed "to strengthen bilateral defence cooperation between India and France"
From France, the prime minister will proceed for bilateral visits to the UAE and Bahrain, and will return to the French city of Biarritz on August 25 to attend the G7 Summit
Modi said that defence cooperation is one of the key pillars of the strategic partnership between India and France