France may allow easy access to Indians

New Delhi, May 31 (UNI) India and France have agreed to make concerted efforts to expand bilateral trade and investment by facilitating the movement of professionals, student, interns and tourists.

France has indicated that its future legislation on immigration presently under examination by the French Parliament will open new avenues for foreign qualified professionals and students to access the French market on a temporary basis.

The French authorities are also ready to solve the problems faced by Indian companies on a case by case basis. This is indicated in the joint statement of the 14th session of the French-Indian Joint Committee which was signed in Paris today by Mr Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, on behalf of the Government of India and Ms Christine Lagarde, the French Minister of Foreign Trade on behalf of the Government of France. The one-day Joint Committee Meeting (JCM) was co-chaired by Mr Kamal Nath and Ms Lagard.

Both sides recalled that the visit of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to France, in September 2005 and the visit of President Jacques Chirac to India in February 2006 were strong illustrations of the common commitment to further strengthen bilateral economic and commercial ties. The two governments have also targeted to double bilateral trade within five years.

Two-way trade between India and France was around three billion dollar in 2004-05, indicating a growth of 26 per cent.

Both sides reviewed market access issues faced by their exporters with the Indian side urging agreement between the French Agricultural Ministry and the Indian Export Inspection Council (EIC) in order to facilitate export of Indian agricultural food and fisheries products to France. India has also pressed for acceptance of the EIC certification, especially for products where specifications have not been harmonised within the European Union (EU).

The French side appraised India about its action plan to promote trade and investment by French small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in India and also indicated that French companies in the financial services and retail sector were eager to invest in India.

The Indian side also urged the support of France for the recognition of Indian whisky by the European Commission.

Earlier, in his address Mr Kamal Nath said that India looked forward to a positive role by France as a leading member of EU on various market access issues relating to Indian goods and services in Europe. UNI PC ARB KP2028