Indian defence minister welcomes French counterpart

French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu met his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on Monday to discuss ways to strengthen defence and security ties between the two countries.

Lecornu's visit is part of the fourth India-France Annual Defence Dialogue. India has bought 36 Rafale fighter aircrafts from France under a government contract signed in September 2016. Both France and India are increasingly engaged in maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region.