President Hollande's visit: A boost for bilateral ties

No major deals were signed during French President Francois Hollande's two-day state visit to India. That was reason enough for most commentators to air their disappointment over its outcome. The reaction is both misplaced and misleading. It is misplaced because officials briefing journalists in Paris and New Delhi before the president set foot on Indian soil had made it clear that no agreements — especially those related to the sale of 126 Rafale combat aircraft to the Indian Air Force and the cons-truction of six nuclear reactors in Jaitapur in Maharashtra — were on the anvil. And it is misleading because it fails to take into account the nature of Hollande's engagement with India.

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