FRANCE OFFERS COOPERATION IN
AGRICULTURE AND FERTILIZER SECTORS

December 9, 1998

France and India could cooperate in the field of Agriculture and benefit from each others experience and expertise. France can help India in post harvest technology and development of cold storage etc. This emerged from the talks when H.E. Mr. Jacques Dondoux, Minister for Foreign Trade called on Shri Surjeet Singh Barnala, Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Food and Consumer Affairs here today. The French Minister was heading an eight member delegation to India.

Shri Barnala said that there was scope for mutual cooperation between India and France in fertilizer sector. The consumption of NPK fertilizers has been on the increase in India. During 1992-93, India had imported 1,30,000 MTs of NPK Fertilizer from France. The scope for further cooperation in the field could be explored.

Shri Barnala informed the visiting Minister that after the green revolution, India has made astounding progress in production of chemicals and pharmaceuticals. He said France could explore the possibility of importing these from India. India can also offer dye stuff and pesticides and petro-chemicals to France. The France Minister said that France would welcome this step and further possibilities in the matter could also be explored.

PROTOCOL OF INTENT BETWEEN INDIA AND FRANCE

A Protocol of Intent, between the Ministry of Industry, Government of India and the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry Government of the Republic of France was signed here today. Shri Ajay Vikram Singh, Addl.Secretary, and Ms.Francoise Saliou, Addl.,Secretry, Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry, Government of Republic of France, signed the document in the presence of Shri Sikander Bakht, Union Minister of Industry, and Mr.Jacques Dondoux , Minister of State for Foreign Trade, France.

The protocol aims at making joint efforts to promote greater industrial and technological cooperation between the two countries and encouraging the growth of investments and joint ventures in industrial and technological sectors between French firms with emphasis on medium and small scale enterprises.

The technological and industrial cooperation programme envisaged in the Protocal of Intent includes investment seminars, individual joint-venture meetings, specific technological round table meetings etc. The priority sectors identified jointly by the Ministries of India and France include Information Technology(IT), food-processing and packaging industry , capital goods, industrial machinery, automotive equipment, bio-technology and electrical equipments.

A Coordination Committee would be established in New Delhi comprising in particular two representatives of the Ministry of Industry, Government of India on the Indian side, and the Head of the Economics, Trade and Finance Commission and the Counsellor for Scientific and Technical Cooperation of the French Embassy in New Delhi on the French side. The Committee would meet regularly every semester.

INDIA, FRANCE KEEN ON CLOSER TRADE AND INVESTMENT TIES
Commerce Minister ADDRESSES 9th SESSION OF
INDO-FRENCH JOINT COMMITTEE

 November 23, 1998

The 9th Session of the Indo-French Joint Committee opened here today with both sides underlining the potential for closer trade and investment links between the two countries. In his address at the inaugural session of the meeting this morning, the Commerce Minister, Shri Ramakrishna Hegde, stressed that France was a very important country for India, being the 5th largest export destination for India among European countries with bilateral trade estimated at over US $ 1.5 billion during 1997-98. France is also the 6th largest supplier of technology to India and a number of French enterprises have collaborated with Indian companies in fields as diverse as electronics, industrial machinery, electrical equipment, textiles etc. Shri Hegde said that French enterprises could take advantage of the new opportunities for beneficial ventures through intensive interaction between Indian and French companies. "I invite the French to share in the growing opportunities reflected in the expanding Indian market and Indian capabilities particularly in priority sectors like infrastructure -- energy, roads, ports, housing, transport and water as well as information technology, agro-industries, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, etc. France has the necessary expertise in several of these areas and we would welcome French participation", Shri Hegde said. Mr.Jacques Dondoux , Minister of Foreign Trade of France, who is accompanied by a French industrialists delegation, reciprocated with similar views and said that bilateral trade and economic cooperation could be expanded significantly to reflect the full potential for such exchanges. France will be participating in the Indo-French forum on Industrial Investments, being organised jointly by the Ministry of Industry and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), on 7th December, 1998 at New Delhi as well as in the Seminar on Road Construction slated for 14-17 December, 1998.

Drawing the attention of Mr.Dondoux to India’s concern over growing trade barriers in the EU market, Shri Hegde said that France as a leading member of the EU and as a friend of India could use its considerable influence to ensure that trade issues relating to anti-dumping, subsidies etc. were viewed from a broader perspective so as not to act as a barrier to trade. He informed the French delegation that there had been a steady growth in anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations against India by the EU, with India being the target of 6 EC investigations during 1997 out of the 45 new investigations initiated during the year and 5 of its exports facing definitive anti-dumping duties. Another 10 investigations were in progress. There had been a dispropotionate targetting of developing countries like India, Shri Hegde said, particularly of sectors which formed the mainstay of their exports including items under quota. "We are also watching with interest the emergence of EURO and its possible effects on our trade with France and other EU countries. We anticipate that this development will help us in increasing our trade and presence in each other’s markets. I do hope that France will help us in understanding and in preparing for the future economic scenario in Europe", he said.

Stressing the need to take a fresh look at the structure of the Joint Committee particularly in the context of opportunities in sectors like energy, information technology, food processing, transport etc., Shri Hegde suggested that Working Groups could be set up as part of the Joint Committee for building strategic partnerships in the related sectors. The one-day session of the Joint Committee will conclude with the signing of the Joint Statement by both sides later today.

 INDIA AND FRANCE SIGN MOU FOR CO-OPERATION IN BIO-TECHNOLOGY

India and France have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for co-operation in specific areas of bio-technology. Initially the collaboration would be in the areas of bioinformatics related to genome research; silkworm genome; human X chromosome; pharmacogenetics; and mapping of genes for idiopathic generalised epilepsy. The MOU was signed during the just concluded visit to France of Secretary, Department of Bio-Technology, with the Centre National de la Recherch Scientifique (CNRS). As the collaboration proceeds, other areas of research would be further considered. The co-operation would be in the form of joint research projects, training and exchange of scientific and technical experts and exchange of information and scientific data, as per national policies and regulatory machanisms of each country. The MOU is expected to go a long way in improving the research capabilities of the scientists in the two countries and help in the establishment of joint research structures in the areas of genomic research, trutural biology and functional genomics.