PARIS: Once persona non grata in Europe, India's prime minister will be welcomed with open arms in Paris on Friday as he kicks off his maiden visit to the continent to woo investors to his fast-growing economy.
Narendra Modi is seeking to accelerate a drive to turn India into a manufacturing and investment hub, and attention will be on whether Paris and New Delhi seal lucrative, long-delayed fighter jet and nuclear deals.
Paris has for years been locked in tortuous negotiations with New Delhi to sell 126 of its Rafale fighter jets, in a deal estimated at more than $12 billion.
Indian media said ahead of talks between Modi and French President Francois Hollande on Friday that the government was considering a direct purchase of a smaller number of jets to accelerate the purchase and replace its ageing air force fleet.
The Hindustan Times said the government was "seriously considering strategic purchase of up to 40 Rafales for the Indian Air Force" due to "operational necessity", with further purchases later.
It quoted an unnamed source as saying a new deal could be worked out this year, with the exact number of planes depending on the final price.
Hollande said earlier this week that he and Modi "will have discussions" about the Rafale deal, but a diplomatic source added no announcement was expected during the visit.
Modi, a right-wing Hindu nationalist, was effectively blacklisted by the European Union for years, accused of encouraging deadly communal riots in 2002 in the western state of Gujarat, which he governed for over a decade.
But after his landslide victory in a general election last year, and with India's economy now growing faster than even China's, the one-time outcast is likely to receive a warm reception.
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