•Manu Pubby: Military ties between India and US are now increasing. Given that France has been a traditional supplier of defense equipment to India, will this be a problem for France?

The relationship between France and India is based not merely on business. When it comes to defense purchases, in France we always offer -- while respecting international laws -- the latest technology and when we sell something it is sold and we don’t hold anything back. That is why the Mirage 2000 is still equipping the Indian Air Force and will be modernized in order to continue its excellent services. If you look at the submarines contract, Scorpene, it is very important that the French company is transferring to India the technologies, the skills to build these submarines itself. We are doing that with our submarines and we are already doing that with other technologies. We think that the right to self-defence is the right of every country and, therefore, it is perfectly legitimate for a country which is peaceful and which reveals its commitment to peace, to develop a modern self defense capability.

What we are making sure of is to provide the best state of the art technology and technology which are proven by the use in the French Army. For instance, the Rafale is presently used in Afghanistan, so what we’re offering is a very modern aircraft , reliable in a military operation.

•Maneesh Chhibber. When will the expansion of G-8 take place, who are the likely candidates and how strong is India’s case?

... contd.