NEW DELHI: Dassault Aviation entered into an agreement with Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence as it was presented as a “trade off” to obtain the contract of Rafale sales, according to document accessed by French investigative website Mediapart.

The document shows that Dassault considered this alliance as a “counterpart”, “imperative and mandatory” to get into the Indian market. Dassault Aviation’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Loïk Segalen, made this clear during a presentation of the Dassault Reliance Aerospace joint venture to staff representatives in Nagpur in May 2017, according to a report prepared by the staff.

At Dassault Aviation, according to a document obtained by Mediapart, the partnership with Ambani had effectively been presented like a”trade-off” for the Rafale contract. Dassault Aviation’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Loïk Segalen, said this clearly on May 11, 2017, during a presentation of the Dassault Reliance Aerospace joint venture to staff representatives in Nagpur. “It was imperative and mandatory for Dassault Aviation to accept this trade off to obtain the contract to export Rafale to India”, said the number 2 (deputy CEO) of the group said, according to a report prepared by the staff.

When contacted by Mediapart, the Dassault group again refused to comment on this document.