The French Minister Ms Idrac said, Europe and India have a shared destiny and need to work together for a peaceful and regulated globalization. The two have formed an exchange network of business management schools including ESCP-EAP. Every year, students from around the world receive training in Gurgaon while a large number of students benefit from classes in Europe especially France. According to her, the European Union (EU) today represents an economic and political partnership of 27 European democracies and is a free trade area of goods and services. It allows free movement of persons within a space comprising 24 member states. EU is a formidable source of travel, contact and cross-border trade and has helped reduce cost of tele-communications and flight tickets, European integration being an ongoing process.

The French Minister said that, Europe now is a major player on the world stage and embraces economics, diplomacy, culture, universities, and research in a wide range of areas.. It is a formidable market for goods and services around the world with uniform customs union and excellent transport and communication facilities and a well qualified workforce. It is also the leader in the export of goods and services being an ideal starting point for economic activities for all countries. With a highly qualified labor, Europe is an exciting place for research and innovation. It ranks third in concentration on research and development, and is the worldas second biggest producer of scientific articles. The appeal of Europe also lies in its quality infrastructure including energy, water, telecommunications and transport that make doing business simple. Credit is easily available with mature and well diversified financial markets, lower taxes, and a highly developed insurance market.

The French Minister also emphasized university exchange programs. Stressing that the world has becomeaglobal villagea, openness to foreign cultures is essential particularly for students. Exchanges are also necessary for the future equilibrium of our planet as getting to know each other and inter-cultural dialogues are the keys to mutual understanding and progress.

Earlier, welcoming the French Minister MDI Director Prof C V Baxi alluded to a major corporate crisis currently striking the world and said long term solutions to global business issues need be found and addressed. He emphasized greater coordination and exchange of ideas among the global business institutions.

Briefing the media men, Professor Subir Verma, Chairman PGPM and Placement said French companies in India employ above 42000 employees. The number is growing rapidly every year as more companies expand and diversify their presence in India. Companies like Thales, Orange, Alten, and many more have come forward to offer co-financed corporate scholarships and are willing to associate themselves with such endeavors.

Major French companies in electronics, IT, telecom, automobile, chemical engineering and retail sectors, including Thales, Renault, Altran, Steria, Air Liquide, Schneider Electric, and Segece also participated in the job fair, made presentations and conducted campus recruitments.

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