France looks to welcome more Indian students
French Foreign Minister JeanYves Le Drian on Tuesday said that the country has set a target of having 20,000 Indian students in France by 2025.
There were 10,000 Indian students studying in the European nation in 2019, according to officials at the French Embassy.
“We have set a target...it is to have 20,000 Indian students in France by 2025, and we will make it. We want to bring French and Indian youth even closer,” Minister Le Drian said.
“We will support the students during their stay in France...living in France is quite something,” he said.
The minister was speaking at an event at the French Embassy where he appointed 15 Alumni Ambassadors chosen from the prestigious
France Alumni network to boost student mobility between the two countries. The French minister mentioned that he got late in reaching the embassy for the event as he “had so many things to discuss” with his counterpart Union Minister S Jaishankar.
“We enjoy such a strong relationship that I got late,” he said.
These alumni have pursued studies in the fields of science, management, art, culinary and social sciences and have become leaders in their respec
tive fields in India. They signed a charter engaging them in the Alumni Ambassadorship Programme.
The alumni ambassadors shared with the minister their experiences of living in France and ideas to improve student mobility between the two nations. During his three-day visit to India, from April 13 to 15, the French foreign minister is also expected to call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The focus will be on strengthening strategic ties between the two countries, boost cooperation in several fields. —