The Hindu Business Line : France keen on Paris-Kolkata flight: Envoy

The French Government is keen on launching direct flight service between Kolkata and Paris, according to Mr Jerome Bonnafont, France’s Ambassador to India.

“We are keen on launching Air France flight in the Kolkata-Paris route once the economic crisis settles down,” he told media persons here on Tuesday on the sidelines of a conference to announce the launch of ‘Bonjour India’, a cultural festival of France in different cities in India. The air service was so far not viable due to lack of business opportunities from Kolkata, he pointed out.

France will also facilitate trebling the number of Indian students going to the country for higher studies, Mr Bonnafont said. Currently, about 2,000 students travel to France every year. “We are looking for students keen on taking up higher education in all streams, including engineering and business management,” he said.The Indo-France Consortium of Universities (IFCU) organises exchange programmes and scholarships in France with Indian institutes such as IITs and the IIMs. This year, about 130 students from West Bengal took up courses in various French universities, Mr Laural Reyes, In-Charge of Scientific and University Co-operation in West Bengal, Consulate General Office of France, said. The number of students from the region in France was growing at 25 per cent annually, he added.

Bilateral trade

Bilateral trade between India and France remained flat in 2009, Mr Bonnafont said, adding that the trade balance could be marginally in favour of India during the period.

“We had a target of increasing the bilateral trade with India from 7 billion Euros in 2008 to about 12 billion Euros by 2012. Though this target may take time to achieve due to the global economic crisis, we are hopeful of reaching the desired levels of trade in a couple of years with an expected turnaround in the economic scenario,” he said.

“We are keen on extending cooperation with India in the spheres of infrastructure, health, education, water, sanitation and waste management,” Mr Bonnafont said.

The Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, had met the French Ambassador earlier in the day and discussed the prospects of business cooperation in the food processing and renewable energy sectors in the State.

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