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Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, today invited France to invest and participate in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) being set up in India. Speaking at the inaugural session of the 13th Indo-French Joint Committee meeting, co-chaired by Mr. Francois Loos, Minister for External Trade of France, the Minister called for imparting a new momentum to the entire gamut of trade and economic cooperation with France. Both India and France have agreed to take concerted measures in coordination to expand and diversify the pattern of bilateral trade and investment, according to a Joint Statement which was signed by Shri Kamal Nath and Mr. Loos at the conclusion of the Joint Committee Meeting here this evening. Earlier at the inaugural, both the Ministers noted that the economic presence of France in India, while growing, was still not commensurate with the economic complementarities and the business opportunities that existed. Mr. Loos said that India was a strategic country for the foreign trade of France and informed that France had adopted a Commercial Action Plan this year in order to develop its economic and commercial ties with India.
Noting that France had emerged as one of the important IT software destinations for India, Shri Kamal Nath in his one-to-one meeting with Mr. Loos raised the issue of the difficulties faced by Indian IT firms in obtaining visas/work permit for their personnel in France, including the problems faced due to the fact that visas were granted for short periods. India has suggested that the French authorities could consider introduction of a visa/work permit regime which would facilitate easier movement of professionals and the issue of five-year green cards for IT professionals and personnel. The Indian side also suggested a bilateral framework for recognition of mutual technical qualifications.
Shri Kamal Nath informed the French side about the liberal foreign direct investment (FDI) policy being pursued by the Indian government, but pointed out that while France was India’s 9th largest investor in terms of FDI approvals, the actual FDI inflows from France were only 1/3rd of the amount approved. He proposed that the Indo-French Joint Committee could look into this issue. Mr. Loos said that "the Indian market is largely unknown in France and opportunities in India barely known in France". Both sides agreed on the need for greater visibility and closer interaction between the two countries to avail of the opportunities for investment and trade.
It was acknowledged that the successful visit of the French Prime Minister Mr. Jean-Pierre Raffarin in February 2003 had had a positive impact on bilateral economic relations and as a result, there had been increase in bilateral trade between the two countries. However, both Shri Kamal Nath and Mr. Loos emphasized that the two-way trade was still way below its potential and underlined the need to work together to further strengthen economic and commercial ties in a planned and time-bound manner. Mr. Loos welcomed in particular the aims outlined by Mr. Kamal Nath in the new Foreign Trade Policy to double India’s share of world trade within the next few years.
Both sides highlighted market access issues involving each others exports – i.e., on the Indian side, the issue of harmonization of standards and non-tariff barriers affecting marine products and some processed food items; and on the French side, the issue of taxes on imported goods especially on wines and spirits, customs controls on food stuffs, and the Indian requirement to label the maximum retail price which, they said, hampered exportation of French products to India. While pointing out that the basic customs tariffs on wines and spirits were in line with India’s WTO commitment on bound rates, the Indian side noted the French request regarding duties of imported wines and spirits.
Both sides discussed the international economic scenario and also exchanged views on WTO issues.
The possibility of enhancing cooperation in the field of geographical indication for agricultural products was discussed. The matter of providing geographical indication (GI) protection for Darjeeling tea and its logo was discussed with a view to providing immediate protection in order to prevent its misuse in France. Similar action could be taken to provide protection to other GIs such as basmati rice, alphonso mangoes etc., according to the Joint Statement signed by the two Ministers. France conveyed its readiness to receive a delegation from India to discuss the modalities of cooperation in this area, the statement added.
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