New Delhi: France and India have been strategic partners for a long time, especially in the fields of defence and aerospace, said French Ambassador to India Thierry Mathou on October 7. He was speaking at the conference organised by the French Aerospace Industries Association (GIFAS) in New Delhi.
He said 55 per cent of French exports to India are in the aeronautical sector, amounting to 2.7 billion euros in the first half of 2024. France and India will be setting up an aeronautics cluster as well as developing an Indo-French campus for professional training in aeronautics and space. “We are also working with the civil aviation ministry to set up an aeronautics cluster….,” he said.
The French Ambassador noted that the partnership is not just strategic but universal. According to the Ambassador, France will support India’s goal to decarbonise transport and on developing Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). “Today, our partnership is not just strategic, you should call it universal because it goes literally from the seabed to the outer space,” the Ambassador said.
India and France can work together to develop a robust SAF supply chain, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said at the event.
The event was organised at the Hotel Taj Mahal, Mansingh Road. Guillaume Faury, Chairman of GIFAS and CEO of Airbus, and Frédéric Parisot, CEO of GIFAS took part in a France-India seminar alongside with the French Ambassador to India, Thierry Mathou and Indian officials led by Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu, Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Govt of India. The Indian delegation, led by SIDM, FICCI and ISPA, GIFAS’ counterparts in India attended the event along with 160+ guests from the industry.
Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury on October 7 said aircraft maker will increase sourcing of components from India, which offers plenty of opportunities. In the civil aviation space, Indian carriers are operating a significant number of Airbus planes. Also, IndiGo and Air India have placed orders for aircraft with Airbus as they expand their fleets and networks to meet the rising air passengers demand.
Didier Kayat (Chairman of GIFAS ‘equipment manufacturers group – CEO of Daher) and Clémentine Gallet (Chairwoman of GIFAS’ MSMEs group – CEO Coriolis Composites) were also present at the press conference.
The French aerospace industry association, GIFAS, is leading a large delegation of companies to India from October 7 to 10, 2024. The French delegation is made of over 100 high-level representatives from 60 companies including prime contractors, equipment manufacturers, MSMEs and start-ups, covering the entire spectrum of the French aerospace industry, civil, defence and space.
This mission will provide a unique opportunity for French and Indian companies to better understand their mutual expectations and lead to even more partnerships between companies which are committed to accompany the growth of the aerospace industry.
India already hosts over 60 GIFAS member companies, including more than 30 industrial sites. This presence testifies of the dynamic cooperation between our two nations and the will of French companies to contribute to the success of the ‘Make in India’ program. Training, innovation and decarbonisation are among the topics of excellence of this cooperation.
The French Aerospace Industries Association (GIFAS) is an industry body that brings together some 482 companies ranging from main prime contractors and system suppliers to SMEs and startups. They form a
cohesive, hard-driving high-technology sector specialising in the design, development, construction, marketing and maintenance of all aeronautical and space programmes and equipment, both civilian and military planes and defence and security systems. Every two years, GIFAS organizes the Paris-Le Bourget International Air Show, the world’s top event of its kind. The 55th Paris-Le Bourget Air Show will run from June 16-22, 2025.
