French President Jacques Chirac was treated to a flying and static display of India's aircraft manufacturing capabilities at the 46th Paris Air Show.

Chirac visited the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) pavilion at the Le Bourget airport Monday where the defence public sector behemoth has displayed its Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT), Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) and the re-engineered Cheetal, besides other products and technologies.

Defence production secretary Shekhar Dutt, HAL chairman Ashok K. Baweja and Indian ambassador to France Dilip Lahiri were also present on the occasion.

"Chirac, an engineer himself, evinced keen interest in the technical features of the IJT and the ALH (named Dhruv). He appreciated the company for developing such advanced aerial platforms in India.

"He also discussed the scope of cooperation with the French aviation industry and sought information on the growth of the Indian aviation sector," a HAL statement said.

Later, the indigenously designed and developed IJT was flown for the first time in an international air show. Before this, the Dhruv ALH took to the air to showcase its multiple applications in the defence and civilian sectors.

Many US and European aerospace firms are partnering with HAL to supply sub-systems and critical components for the IJT project.