France and India enjoy an exceptionally warm relationship, which is the fruit of deep affinities and the unwavering trust between the two countries since India’s independence.

An intense cooperation between our two countries developed in areas as sensitive as defence, security and energy since the launch of our Strategic Partnership in 1998. As global strategic partners, India and France consult each other on all international matters in a spirit of mutual understanding, respect, trust, and support, taking into account their respective security interests.

In the economic field, trade relations have developed over the years and French companies have been investing massively in India: with an investment stock of around 20 billion euros, French companies are among the top international investors in India.

As early as the 1980s France wished to give greater scope to its relations with India. This closer bilateral relationship was concretized with the establishment of a strategic partnership in 1998, and a strategic dialogue a year later. This dialogue is based on annual high-level meetings and consultations conducted twice a year by the Diplomatic Advisor to the French President and the National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of India.

The State Visit of President François Hollande in January 2016, less than a year after the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to France in April 2015, reaffirmed the exceptional nature of the Indo-French strategic partnership and helped strengthen the dynamism of our economic, university, scientific and cultural exchanges.

Bilateral trade has increased significantly over the past fifteen years – it almost tripled between 2000 and 2010. More than the volume of bilateral trade, the dynamism of Indo-French economic relations springs from the establishment of French companies in India. Today, more than 1000 French subsidiaries from a wide spectrum of sectors are present in India and employ a workforce of around 3,00,000 persons. The total French investment stock in India is expected to increase by over 1 billion euros annually over the next few years. France collaborates with India under the latter’s “Smart Cities” initiative. French companies specializing in the sustainable urban development sector are already active in around twenty Indian cities (metro, water, etc.).

French companies are present throughout the territory of India but are principally concentrated in the large metropolitan cities (Delhi-NCR, Mumbai/Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata).