Addressing a special gathering to mark the French National Day in the Embassy of France in Delhi, Alexandre Ziegler, ambassador of France to India, said that people-to-people relationships is as important as strategic partnerships in areas of defence, security, tourism and other areas. He said the number of Indian tourist arrivals to France has doubled in the last three years.

Talking about French-India strategic partnership, Ziegler said: “It is as relevant today as was 20 years ago when France chose India as its preferred strategic partner in Asia. France and India share the same values and principles as democracies and stands for multilateralism, international law and cooperation between states, which are corner stones of strategic partnership.”

France has invited India to the G7 Summit scheduled between 24-26 August in Biarritz in France because of these reasons.