The two-way trade between India and France, estimated at around US$3 billion, will be stepped up to US$5 billion soon very soon and foreign direct investment (FDI) from France into India will also be accelerated.

This consensus, says a release issued by the Press Information Bureau of the Government of India, was reached after talks between India's Commerce & Industry Minister, Kamal Nath, and his French counterpart, Christine Lagrade, in Paris last weekend.

Lagarde indicated that the focus of French investment would be India 's hi-tech industries and the IT sector, and also conveyed the keenness of France to promote collaboration between the small and medium enterprises of the two countries.

The two ministers issued a joint statement at the end of the 14th Session of Indo-French Joint Committee held in Paris on May 31. They welcomed the recent positive trends in trade and investment between India and France , and agreed to take concerted steps to expand bilateral trade and economic cooperation, including finding ways to facilitate movement of business persons, professionals, students, interns and tourists.

The French side indicated that the country's legislation on immigration, currently being examined by its law-makers, would open new avenues for qualified professionals and students to access the French market.

Speaking on 'India: The New Paradigm' at the International Foreign Relations Institute, Paris, Nath explained India was emerging as a leading investment destination because of its unique demographic advantage of a large workforce of young professionals, its vast pool of knowledge and skills, and its deep-rooted democratic traditions.

In his interactions with the French Minister for Agriculture & Fisheries, Dominique Busseareau, Nath discussed the possibilities of bilateral cooperation in agriculture, especially in the food processing industries.