French Ambassador Francois Richier on Wednesday said his country's current focus is to strengthen investments in India and that French companies have been investing Euro 1 to 2 billion in the country every year.
Richier, who is on a two-day visit to Telangana along with a trade delegation, said the bilateral trade between the countries currently stood at $ 8 billion and did not grow due to variety of reasons.
“The French investors have together invested Euro 20 billion in India. They employ roughly 3.5 lakh skilled people in major cities, covering all sectors. It grows by Euro 1 to 2 billion every year. It is not only new companies that are investing but also the existing companies,” Richier told reporters.
Richier said that there is not much investment by French companies in Defence sector. However, with the raised FDI ceiling in the sector, some of the companies from France are expected to show interest in investing in that sector.