French Minister for Foreign Trade to visit India

New Delhi, March 9 (UNI) French Minister for Foreign Trade Franck Riester will be on a two-day visit to India from tomorrow, during which the two sides will hold talks on their efforts to reform the world trade system post the pandemic. Riester, who will be visiting Delhi and Bengaluru, will also reaffirm France’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific, and further the positive French and European economic agenda for prosperity in the region, a French Embassy statement said. The purpose of the Minister’s trip is to consolidate the robust bilateral economic ties with India to meet the current challenges of the global economy. Given France and India’s common goal to boost their strategic autonomy this visit seeks to enhance Indo-French cooperation in key industrial sectors. In Delhi, Riester will meet Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal with whom he will review trade and investment, and ways of fostering greater ease of doing business between the two countries, and coordination in multilateral fora on economic issues. He will meet Indian investors to highlight the advantages extended to foreign investors under the country’s massive recovery plan of the euro 100 billion, “France 2030” investment plan in key industrial sectors, post-Brexit relocation opportunities, as well as showcase France as a perfect gateway to expansive European markets. Riester will also hold discussions with the representatives of French companies and the French network in India that assists French companies in their Indian projects. He will preside over the ceremony of the IFCCI Business Awards 2022 for outstanding accomplishments of Indian and French companies based in India, as well as the Grand Prix VIE South Asia 2022 recognizing young French achievers working in French companies abroad, the statement said. During his trip, the minister will also visit French business success stories in India in tech and smart solutions. In Delhi-NCR, he will visit the Noida Headquarters, R&D and Design facility of French company IDEMIA, a global leader in smart solutions for identity security services. In Bengaluru, he will visit Dassault Systems. He will also visit the Indian company CENTUM Electronics, which has offices in France, providing precision microelectronics that are critical for applications in many sectors, including aerospace and defence, the statement said.