New Delhi [India], November 27 : Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday called for increased collaboration with French businesses in five key sectors such as agriculture and food processing, renewable energy, aerospace and defence, automobiles and electric vehicles and digital technology.
Speaking here at the annual conference of French Foreign Trade Commissioners of the Asia-Pacific region, which included French CEOs and business leaders, Goyal said trade between the two countries is at suboptimal levels given the opportunities at hand.
"(Bilateral trade) is quite sub-optimal, given the strength of our two economies, something which we should collectively aspire to grow much bigger, much better, much faster," Goyal told the gathering.
"We are both trusted partners to each other and that will strengthen our continued engagement in investments with Indian industry going to France and French manufacturing coming to India, our services working with each other to greater impact, the global capability centres that are coming in good measure to set up shop in India and leverage from the attractiveness of Indian talent," he added.
Bilateral trade between India and France in the financial year 2023-24 reached USD 15 billion with Indian exports at about USD 7 billion and imports at about USD 8 billion.
Stating that France is India's 11th largest foreign direct investor, Goyal said there is a lot potential in the future.
India and France are celebrating 75 years of diplomatic ties and 25 years of strategic partnership this year.
Pressing particularly on the defence and aerospace sector, Goyal said India is a huge market and French companies should look for greater possibilities.
"The number of planes that India has on order is close to about 1,500. We have options that could take them to about 2,000. And I can see for the next three decades, the Indian aviation market will be the world's largest demand aggregator for aeroplanes and I would suspect that it would be in the best interests also of French companies to look at Indian manufacturing possibilities, to look at expanding their own sales in India for both aircraft, the spare parts for aircraft, the MROs...," he said.
India has expanded its airports from 74 in 2014 to about 125 now, almost doubling them and the plan is to add another 75 more airports by 2029, the minister said.
India is the world's fastest-growing major economy and is on way to becoming the third largest.
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