First Rafale to be delivered in 2 months: French Ambassador Alexandre Ziegler

French Ambassador Alexandre Ziegler on Friday said that the first Rafale fighter aircraft will be delivered within two months and it will be "perfectly on time". The senior diplomat told PTI on the sidelines of a function here that all 36 Rafale jets will be delivered to the Indian Air Force within the next two years.

Calling it an excellent aircraft, he said it would add a lot to the capacity of the Indian Air Force. "The first Rafale will be delivered to the Indian Air Force (IAF) in two months from now, I think in September, perfectly on time. Thirty-six will come within the next two years," Ziegler said.

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Hailing the partnership between the two nations, he said, "Look at the track record we have developed in cooperation with India in the past 50 years. The IAF has been flying with French technology, and Indo-French technology because there is a large amount of technology that we have co-developed." "I think this 50-year-old partnership (with India) will develop into a partnership of the next 50 years. I am confident about that," he said.

Earlier also Alexandre Ziegler expressed solidarity with India in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack and promised full support to India in its quest to defeat terrorism.

"We have a very clear stand. Terrorism cannot be tolerated. There can't be a situation where the leader of the group, who has claimed responsibility for an awful attack which happened last week, should not be designated (as a terrorist). He has to be designated. We are trying to put him on the list since the past two years, and we have launched another initiative today in New York so that it can be included in the UN sanction list," he said.

The French Ambassador further mentioned that his country will work closely with India to fight terrorism, which has not only caused damage to India but even to France in the past.

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