I understand that the budget of the French ministry of foreign and European affairs has become tight. At the same time, you are going to open two new consulates in Kolkata and Bangalore. How do you explain this paradox?
I am very happy about it! It demonstrates that India is high on the priority of the French foreign policy. France is more and more aware of the emergence of India and the necessity for us to pay more attention to India in all fields. We would like to have operational Consulates in these two cities by the end of the year. The choice of these cities is a carefully thought decision (Bangalore is the hub of modern technologies and Kolkata has a deep Francophone tradition).
One of our ambitions is to increase the scientific, cultural and university links between our two countries. President Sarkozy has remarked on more than one occasion that he was surprised that such few Indian students were moving to France for studies (about 1,300 compared to 4,000 Indian students in Germany or 17,000 Chinese in France). Something has to be corrected. To correct this, our strategy is to increase cooperation between universities.
We have just created a caucus of French and Indian universities. We want to tell the Indian students: You have here an excellent option to study in France and it is supported by the French and Indian governments.
What about the ancient capital of French India, Pondicherry?
I visited Pondicherry after 20 years. I was very impressed. The spirit of Pondicherry is dynamic, optimistic and open. The city is developing as a place where heritage, quality of life and ambition for the future are combined. I must say that Pondicherry has another asset. It is the seat of high quality French cultural institutions (the French Institute, the Alliance Francaise, the Ecole Francaise d'Extreme-Orient and the Lycee Francais).
President Sarkozy says he will come every year to India. Will he?
He said he will! In the meantime, we will have the visit of the Indian prime minister to France in September and we are focusing our energies to make this event a success both for Europe and France. I strongly believe that there is a lot in common between Europe and India and France and India. There is a great potential in trade, political exchanges, security issues, cultural and scientific exchanges.
We also share the belief that the world is not shaped by mysterious forces beyond our control, but the world is shaped by the will of its people. Combining the values of Europe and India, such as democracy, social justice, peace and stability, dialogue among cultures, we can achieve good results.
Thank you, Ambassador.
Image: French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Minister for Higher Education and Research Valerie Pecresse outside the Taj Mahal, January 26, 2008. Photograph: Philippe Wojazer/AFP/Getty Images
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