Thrust on more human exchange between India and France

Bhopal, Oct 18 (UNI) With a greater thrust on human exchange in education sector, Indo-French relationship has been going ahead towards its excellence due to strategic partnership between the two nations resulting in equal development in all spheres, Consulate of France (Mumbai) Francois Pujola said today.

''France always tried to support India in every sector beginning from economy, politics, education, nuclear sufficiency to science'', said Mr Pujola during his brief visit to this city of lakes to inaugurate a photo exhibition on architecture organised at the multi-arts centre ''Bharat Bhavan''. He also visited Madhya Pradesh's commercial capital Indore.

''The French government had backed India for its candidacy in UN Security Council and its membership in G-8 countries'', he told UNI in an interview, adding bilateral trade between both countries was expected to be doubled from six billion to 12 billion Euros by 2012.

Pointing out that India and France had signed a bilateral nuclear agreement facilitating sale of French nuclear reactors to Delhi, Mr Pujola said the nuclear accord will also help in combating problems arising from global warming in India as there will be no emission of Carbon dioxide from nuclear reactors''.

''We are stressing on the need of 'human exchange' by increasing the number of Indian students studying in France to triple-fold.

Similarly, we are also seeking to pave the way to send our students to study in India as well,'' the French Consulate said.

Stating that the Central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh has great potential in the education sector, Mr Pujola said he had visited Bhopal's Maulana Azad National Institutue of Technology (MANIT) to select students for placement purpose in the companies in France through India-based Campus France.

''We will go from university to university in search of true talent and take a concrete step for human exchange. In order to attract Indian students, France is providing several public and private funded scholarships.

In this regard, the French government also modified visa regulation for students to enable them to get a degree and six months extra for work, he added.

About Indo-French architecture, he said the city of lakes had vast potential in this field and he was keen to see many huge buildings coming up with French collaboration.

UNI KV SP 1608