France supports India's inclusion as UN Security Council's permanent member

New Delhi, Jan 25 : France today said that it supports India's inclusion as a permanent member of UN Security Council, thus making the UN more relevant to the needs of the 21st century and enabling India to play its role in world affairs.

"France also believes the G-8 needs to be expanded over time to G-13 including India," an India-France joint statement issued today stated.

The statement was issued after discussions that French President Nicolas Sarkozy had in Delhi.

Both countries have agreed to strengthen their cooperation against international terrorism through increased operational contacts.

The joint statement stated that the two countries agreed on the importance of an early, balanced and comprehensive outcome of the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations with focus on the development dimension.

Both countries agreed to maintain the momentum of cooperation in the Space Sector and step up bilateral trade. The aim would be to work towards achieving a target of 12 billion euro bilateral trade by 2012.

They also agreed to enhance their engagement in consular matters including facilitation of visas for businessmen, professionals and interns.

ANI