Says Anne-Marie Idrac, French minister for foreign trade

With economic slowdown looming large on the world economy, the statement of French minister for foreign trade Anne-Marie Idrac comes as a much-needed breather for India.



Speaking with MiD DAY, Idrac said that she along with her counterpart in India is planning to double the trade between the two countries by 2012.

"Kamal Nath has plans to double the current trade with France in the coming three years," she said. According to Idrac, Pune is host to a large number of French companies but the investment needs to be increased. "We are planning to increase our investment in India, especially in Pune," she said.

"The growth of Indian investment in France was around 20 per cent last year, but it is not enough and needs to be more," Idrac said.

Idrac was in the city and attended the reception organised by Revati Arole, head the India chapter of n+I, a network organisation of engineering colleges in France.

Those who attended the reception party included Narendra Jadhav, vice chancellor of Pune University, R S Paranjape, director of National Aids Research Institute and Hemant Abhyankar, director of Vishwakarma Institute of Technology along with several other prominent figures.