India a bright spot in global economy, says France

Paris, April 10 (IANS) India has been identified as a bright spot in the global economy, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Friday at a meeting here attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Modi met CEOs of Indian and French infrastructure and defence companies here on the first leg of his three-nation, 10-day tour that began with his arrival here.

“India is identified as a bright spot in global economy,” Fabius said, according to a tweet by Indian external affairs ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin.

The minister also said: “750,000 member MEDEF (Movement of the Enterprises of France), hosts PM Narendra Modi to address key ‘Make in India’ goals to French companies.”

MEDEF is the largest employer federation in France.

Modi, accompanied by Fabius, attended two back-to-back French CEOs’ forum meetings, one on infrastructure and the other on defence technology.

India expects concrete progress on two long-pending projects, when the two sides meet for official talks later on Friday.

The Jaitapur nuclear power project in Maharashtra, where French company Areva is to set up six reactors with generation capacity of 10,000 MW, is stuck for long over the cost of electricity to be generated.

Similarly, the deal to supply 126 Rafale fighter planes by Dassault Aviation to India is also deadlocked because of differences over price and local assembly issues.

Modi arrived here Thursday night on a two-day official visit to France. He will later visit Germany and Canada.