French ambassador to India Jerome Bonnafont has predicted an increase in two-way trade between India and France with a rise in French firms’ participation in the Indian business sector, especially in the infrastructure segment. He added that trade ties between the two countries will get a shot in the arm during the 2011 G-20 Summit to be held in France.

This development is likely to augur well for the numerous Indian SMEs planning to venture into the French market with their products and services. Significantly, France is India’s fifth largest trading partner in Europe and bilateral trade between the two countries now stands at 7 billion Euros. While France is the 9th largest foreign investor in India with almost 600 companies in the country, India is the 13th largest investor in France with investments in some of the most SME-concentrated sectors such as IT, pharma, plastic and auto parts.

Incidentally, bilateral trade between the India and France had reduced from 6.78 billion Euros in 2008 to 5.36 billion Euros in 2009 because of the economic slowdown which had hurt several Indian SMEs exporting to that country.

Sreemita Bhattacharya