India-France Business Summit held at Chandigarh
Chandigarh, January 24, 2016: In the India-France Business Summit held today
at the Hotel Taj, Chandigarh organized by the
Confederation of Indian Industry Northern Region, 16 B2B Agreements were signed
between French &Indian companies in the presence of Prime Minister Sh.
Narendra Modi and H. E French President Francois Hollande. An MoU between AFD
(the Agence Francaise de Developpement) and The Government of the Union
Territory of Chandigarh was signed between Pascal Pacaut, Head of Asia
Division, AFD, on the French side and Sh. Vijay Dev, Adviser of the
Administrator, UT, Chandigarh.
Under its FEXTE programme the French government will provide technical assistance on urban development. French Urban Development Experts from the French public sector will be based in the city. Experts in the fields of urban transport, water and waste treatment, solar energy, urban planning and architecture and heritage will assist the city with their smart city development plans.
The French President,
who began his three-day visit from Chandigarh today, is accompanied by a large
delegation of CEOs. CEOs of 25 Indian and French companies attended the
business summit.
Addressing the business
leaders of France and India, Sh. Narendra Modi said that France has an
umbilical link with Chandigarh. He further added that, "India wants to
enter the field of defense manufacturing and assured French companies present there, especially in the field of defense manufacturing that we can do a lot in the area
of defense manufacturing." Inviting French companies, especially
those in the defense sector to manufacture in India and take advantage of low
costs involved, the Prime Minister said India provides huge
business opportunity for them”.
The Prime Minister said India’s ranking in
the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ has improved by 12 points in a short span of time
after his government took over. He said there are many opportunities to work on
different fields between India and France. Seeking the assistance of France in
improving country’s infrastructure, rail network and innovation, Modi said,
“The match between India and France, is like ‘made for each other’ What France
has is our requirement and what France needs is the market which we have”.
While addressing the
India-France Business Summit in Chandigarh, H. E French President Francois
Hollande commented that, "India has launched a program to create 100 Smart
Cities and France will contribute in developing 3 cities namely Chandigarh,
Puducherry and Nagpur with AFD France."
He also added, “I wish
that Chandigarh, which is the admirable work of Le Corbusier be recognized as
UNESCO world heritage city. He concluded by saying that, “My visit has two main
goals - consolidate strategic partnership with India and implement decisions
taken during PM Modi's visit to France”.
Comments
Post a Comment