The visits come at a time when defence cooperation with these European countries has been at an all time high, a defence ministry statement said.
NEW DELHI: Indian Army chief, Gen JJ Singh, left here on Sunday on a 10-day visit to France and Britain to take forward India's defence relationship with the two countries and "broadbase it into a mutually beneficial partnership".
The visits "come at a time when our defence cooperation with these important European countries has been at an all time high", a defence ministry statement said.
Singh returns July 2.
The joint activities that the Indian armed forces undertake with France and Britain include joint exercises, training exchanges, equipment procurement, visits and participation in seminars and conferences.
Singh will interact with senior military and civilian officials and discuss contemporary defence-related issues, the statement said.
Visits to important operational headquarters and joint service bases have also been planned.
In France, Singh will pay homage at a memorial in Neuve Chappell that honours Indian soldiers who laid down their lives during World War I.
In London, he will address an elite audience at the International Institute of Strategic Studies on "Indian Armed Forces: Present and Future Perspective".
Earlier this year, Singh had visited China, Israel and Italy to foster increased military interaction between India and these countries.
Indian Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta on Saturday concluded a six-day visit to Britain.
Indicative of the close India-Britain military ties, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is, for the first time, fielding its frontline Sukhoi SU-30 combat jets in a western country in a joint drill with the Royal Air Force (RAF) that began on Sunday.
This is also the first time the IAF is conducting a joint drill in Britain and only the second time with the RAF in an exercise code-named Indradhanush-2007. The previous such drill was held at Gwalior last October.
The IAF contingent for the June 24-July 19 exercise at the Waddington air base comprises six SU-30s, one IL-78 midair tanker, one IL-76 transport and some 200 personnel.
Ranged against them will be RAF Typhoon fighters, a VC-10 midair refuelling aircraft and an E-3D AWACS (airborne warning and control system) aircraft.
The IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major, will witness the joint exercise July 9-15.
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