MUMBAI, DEC 13: Indo-French relations, already on a high following the latter's support of Indian nuclear tests, are to receive a further boost next year. A French naval group led by the aircraft carrier FNS Foch will sail into Mumbai in February next year. The first visit by a French carrier to Mumbai in over 15 years, the Foch will be escorted by two other ships including a tanker and a frigate.The Foch and its escorts will participate in joint exercises with the Indian Navy. ``Our purpose is to strengthen ties between the Indian Navy and the French Navy,'' said Commander Jean Armand, Naval Attache in the French embassy, briefing the press on board the warship `Commandant Bouan'.Following the Foch's visit, the Admiral commanding French naval forces in the Indian Ocean will call on Vishakapatnam onboard his flagship, the fleet Oiler Var. This sudden spate of goodwill vists follows a trip by Chief of Army Staff General V P Malik to Paris where he called on several important military brass including the French naval chief in Paris.The last visit by a French aircraft carrier was by the Foch's sister ship the carrier `Clemenceau', which was decommissioned two years ago.The French Navy's commitments in the strife-torn Mediterranean, Adriatic and Persian Gulf regions, had delayed sending the carrier to an Indian port, French naval officials explained.The 1350-tonne frigate `Commandant Bouan' is in Mumbai as part of the ongoing trade and cultural exhibition being held by the French government in conjunction with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at the Oberoi Hotel. Though small, the Bouan packs a powerful punch in the form of four Exocet Anti-Ship Missiles (AShMs) and has short-range `Mistral' surface-to-air missile.The ship has been sailing the Indian Ocean since September, said the Bouan's Commanding Officer Lieutenant Commander Robert Pellegrin. It completed a two-month patrol off the vicinity of Djibouti and a one-month deployment in the Persian Gulf before sailing into Mumbai.
