French Ambassador to India Emmanuel Lenain on Tuesday called India-France military exercise Garuda VII a "great occasion" to continue building a "common history" between the two nations.
Speaking to ANI, Lenain at Jodhpur stated that the exercise is an occasion for the air forces of France and India to learn to operate together. Notably, the Indian Air Force (IAF) and French Air and Space Force (FASF) are participating in a bilateral exercise 'Garuda VIl' at Jodhpur in Rajasthan.
"It is a great occasion to continue to build our common history for forces to learn to how to operate together, to be more interoperable, to be able to conduct joint operations by training together," Lenain told ANI.
Expressing his views on the joint exercise, Lenain said they are "very happy" to be welcomed in India. He called the bilateral exercise between Indian Air Force (IAF) and French Air and Space Force (FASF) a "wonderful occasion."
Lenain said that the French Air & Space Force chief had "very confident" and "very in-depth contacts" in Delhi on Monday, November 7. He stressed that France wants more cooperation and more exercises with India and stressed that there is a "lot of trust" between the two nations. Lenain said that India and France have been "pioneering together" in air force exercises.
"The Chief of Air Staff is visiting also. He is having some very confident and very in-depth contacts in Delhi yesterday. Obviously, we want to go further, we want more cooperation, more collaboration, more exercise, and more training together because there is a lot of trust between our two countries and between our two governments. We can build and redevelop some equipment also and be able to use them more efficiently," Lenain said.
Notably, the 'Garuda VII' exercise involves a number of combat aircraft including Rafale, Tejas, Jaguar, and Sukhoi-30s. It commenced on October 26 and will culminate on November 12.
French Air & Space Force chief Gen Stephane Mille expressed his views on the military exercise between the two nations. General Mille said, "We're here to fly together with Indian aircrew. Sometimes, with a simple act, we can do a lot. Doing this exercise, we are able to understand each other during the flights. It's very important to be able to fly and operate together."
Meanwhile, IAF Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari said, "Garuda is one exercise that gives us this opportunity which exposes our pilots and crew to the best packages of the French Air & Space Force (FASF) and vice versa."
Highlighting the importance of the Garuda exercise, Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari stated, "We have learnt how to carry forward our interoperability. French Air Force also flies Rafale, we also fly Rafale, but we fly many other aircraft along with Rafale. It's important to learn how to interoperate with friendly nations."
( With inputs from ANI )
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