No pressure to select offset partner, says Ziegler

There is nothing stronger than an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) to guarantee a deal, French Ambassador in India Alexandre Ziegler said on Thursday, allaying concerns on the 36 jet Rafale deal between the two countries.

“In our system, when a government signs a deal under its name, we are responsible as a government for supply, price and delivery,” he said when asked about the lack of sovereign guarantees in the deal.

The envoy stated that they (France) have never signed anything stronger and did it with India given the deep strategic partnership between the two countries.

Mr. Ziegler also said there was no pressure on the French government to select Anil Ambani as the offset partner in the deal, which he said, was between the two companies.

Letter of Comfort

In the IGA on the Rafale deal, the French government gave India a Letter of Comfort (LoC) signed by the French Prime Minister in lieu of a sovereign guarantee.

In the €7.87 bn IGA for 36 Rafale jets in flyaway condition, while the broader agreement is through an IGA with the French government, the supply protocols were signed with the French industry.

In major revelations over last several days, The Hindu had put out details of how the anti-corruption clauses for the Rafale deal were waived off and also how the Prime Minister’s Office had conducted “parallel negotiations” which were not disclosed in the government’s submission to the Supreme Court.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has stated earlier that the LoC and the provision in the IGA provide “adequate safeguards” to the Government of India.

Talking of the upcoming Aero India show, Mr. Ziegler said the French would be sending their largest delegation of 49 companies in addition to Small and Medium Enterprises (SME). Three Rafale jets have landed in Bengaluru on Wednesday to take part in the aero show that begins on February 20.