Ambassador of France to India Thierry Mathou on Sunday underscored the importance of the bilateral commitment to foster deeper collaboration between institutions and organisations of India and France.
Inaugurating the Alliance Francaise de Pondicherry (AFP) annexe at the Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth (SBV), Mr. Mathou identified health, science, technology, art and culture as sectors for increasing bilateral engagements, a press note from SBV said.
The full-fledged AFP branch with a permanent staff member at the SBV will support orientation sessions for higher education in France, along with Campus France, to boost student mobility to France in the paramedical field.
He hoped that with the newly launched unit, Alliance Francaise and SBV would strive to create new dimensions in the cross-cutting arena fortifying further the rich, diverse cultural heritage and ethos of France and India.
The discussions also took up the collaborative project proposed by SBV university and the Faculty of Medicine at Université Paris Saclay, which focuses on exchanges of trainees at the Bachelor’s and Master’s (Indian) levels for a period of one month in various hospital departments, public health and clinical training for Indian graduates, speciality services for Indian Master’s students, research on public health, mental illness, and paediatrics, and joint activities, such as workshops and seminars.
Later, at a brief meeting with the officials of SBV and accompanying representatives of Universite Paris-Saclay, Mr. Mathou referenced the initiatives of the Prime Ministers of India and France that laid emphasis on effective collaborations between institutions and organisations against the backdrop of 25 years of strategic partnership between France and India, the SBV said.
The Ambassador also inaugurated the MGM Advanced Research Institute, a state-of-the art research facility at SBV and an aviary, Serene Arcadia.
Lise Talbot Barre, Consul General of France in Puducherry and Chennai, MK Rajagopalan, Chancellor SBV, Nihar Ranjan Biswas, Vice Chancellor SBV, François-Xavier Mortreuil, Attaché for Scientific and Academic Collaborations,Consulate General of France, Laurent Jalicous, Alliance Francaise Director and Satish Nallam, AFP president participated in the meeting. The meeting was also attended by the visiting delegation from Universite Paris-Saclay and top officials of SBV.
The Ambassador’s engagements included a meeting with a working group formed in January this year to support vocational courses in concurrence with Lycée Français International de Pondichéry (LFIP) to exchange views with the members and promote Indo-French cooperation for vocational training, as articulated in the Indo-French joint statement issued during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to India in January 2024, the French Consulate office said.
Mr. Mathou also opened a month-long exhibition on the 15th year of French Development Agency (AFD) activities in India, including in Puducherry.
The programmes included an interaction with representatives of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of La Réunion (CCIR), the Indo-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IFCCI), the French Entrepreneurs Club of Pondicherry (CEFP), and the University of Paris-Saclay (UPS), to encourage cooperation projects between India and Reunion Island in the economic, academic, and cultural fields.
The Ambassador rounded off his visit at the AFP where he watched the premiere of “He-Rose”, an Indo-French artistic co-production between Adishakti theatre here and the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Techniques du Théâtre (ENSATT), a national drama school for theatre arts and techniques in Lyon, France.
