France aims at having 20,000 Indian students by 2025: French FM

The French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who arrived in New Delhi on April 13 for a four-day official visit, said that the country has set a target of having 20,000 students in France by 2025 and they would work for making it possible. Speaking at an event at the French Embassy where he appointed 15 Alumni Ambassadors of Higher Education in France, he assured that these students will receive support during their stay in France.

"We set ourselves a target - it is to have 20,000 Indian students in higher education institutions in France by 2025.   We will make it, thanks, in particular, to you, and to your dynamic experience and energy. And as you know, we will support these students during their stay in France so that as they may fully live this intellectual, cultural and human experience," he said.

France welcomes Indian students

The French Foreign minister also said that he shares a strong bond with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

"I apologise for arriving late but I was with my colleague, Minister Jaishankar, your External Affairs Minister, and we had so many things to discuss and our relationship is so strong that we got late. However, I very much wanted this latest visit, which is my 17th official visit to India. To begin with, you because the history, the background of our cooperation, of our partnerships has always been based on sharing knowledge, sharing ideas, and academic exchanges," he added.

 

Meanwhile, Jaishankar and Le Drian on April 13 held bilateral talks in Hyderabad House wherein they discussed collaborating on areas of mutual interest. Both the leaders recognized the “immense opportunities” for greater collaboration in a variety of fields such as trade, defence, education, research, energy, climate change amongst others. They also agreed to fast track discussions on the India-EU trade and investment agreement. Le Drian on April 14, along with Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, will take part in a panel discussion on climate change at the French Embassy.

 (Image Credits: FranceinIndia/Twitter)

(Inputs from ANI)