I think we will see rise in French investments in India in coming years: IFCCI president

Jul 15, 2023

Paris [France], July 15 : Sumeet Anand, IndSight Growth Partners founder and president of Indo-French Chamber of Commerce & Industry (IFCCI), called his interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron "fabulous."
Speaking to ANI, Anand said he thinks there will be an increase in French investments in India in the coming years. 
On how he sees India's economy as a trading partner, Sumeet Anand said, "India is obviously one of the fastest growing economies in the world, or the largest fast-growing economy in the world. So, the perspectives are very good, obviously, for all investors, including French investors. I think the difference is with France is a strategic partnership, and there are many areas of cooperation which are beneficial to both India as well as France, and therefore it's far more richer than many other, I'd say, economic partnerships in the world today."
"At the French Chamber, we have a lot of French companies that are investing in India. If you look at the last few years, there's been at least USD 5 billion of investment by French companies in India in diverse sectors, from industrial goods to airports to technology. So, I think we'll see a rise in the French investments, in the coming years in India," he told ANI. 
On his interaction with PM Modi, he said, "It was a fabulous interacting with the Prime Minister as well as the President of France. I think the Indo-France CEOs Forum did an outstanding job today of having very meaningful discussions on how one can build stronger business relations for the futures and the interests of both countries. So it was a very good interaction." 
On hs interactions with PM Modi, Gerard Wolf, head of the task force for Sustainable Cities, Ministry of Europe, said sustainable cities were one of the major subjects of the day. He said India and France have to partner more in terms of migration from rural to urban. 
"Sustainable cities was one of the major subject of the day. I think he got the right point, the Prime Minister. It's not the first time that we have a meeting with him. Clearly one of the major problem is to find the solution for all the urban population coming in into India," Wolf said. 
 
"And in term of migration from rural to urban, we have to partner more. We have the solutions. You have the right guys. We just have to boost our cooperation. I think the economy could be much higher on both sides during the afternoon. We got the same point of view. We could do a lot more. We have the same kind of roots of interested in industry. So there's no reason not to go on and foster our cooperation in India," he added. 
Prime Minister Modi and French President Macron on Friday acknowledged the significant role played by business leaders in strengthening the partnership between the two countries.
At the India-France CEO Forum, PM Modi said, “I congratulate you on Bastille Day. This year we are celebrating 25 years of our strategic partnership. Business leaders like you have contributed immensely to this partnership."
Macron and PM Modi arrived to attend India-France CEO Forum after they addressed a joint press conference at Elysee Palace on Friday.