(VOVworld) – French Foreign Minister Jean Marc Ayrault began a four-day visit to India and met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday to bolster the strategic partnership between the two countries.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault (left) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) in Bangalore on January 8. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

Ayrault and Modi discussed collaboration in defense, a few months after the sale of 36 French Rafale fighters to India for about 8 billion euros.

Minister Ayrault told the press that the objective of his trip to India is to stress the strategic partnership and elevate it to a new height, adding that Modi is considering the possibility of signing a weapons deal with France.