70 business heads to accompany Sarkozy

The delegation represents defence, aerospace, IT and infrastructure sectors.

Treating India and China on a par appears to have become a trend with the western nations. When he comes to India on January 24, French President Nicolas Sarkozy will be accompanied by the same delegation that went with him to Beijing two months ago.

Representatives of around 70 French companies, including retail giant Carrefour, which plans to enter India, will accompany Sarkozy.

Hospitality firm Accor, France Telecom, Groupe Danone, furniture manufacturer Gautier France, and electronics and semiconductor manufacturer ST Microelectronics will also be a part of the delegation, besides numerous defence, aerospace, information technology and infrastructure companies.

Official sources say India and France are likely to finalise an agreement on the civil-nuclear cooperation during Sarkozy's visit. The French had signed a hefty $29.62-billion deal for building nuclear reactors and supplying airbuses to China.

But the Indo-French agreement would have to wait for signatures pending a go-ahead from the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) and the Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG) for buying nuclear fuel for energy.

Soon after his arrival early morning, Sarkozy will hold summit-level talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The talks are likely to "focus on civilian nuclear cooperation, defence contracts and deepening bilateral exchanges.''

Singh and Sarkozy would also discuss bilateral trade, climate change and other global political issues.

Sarkozy will then meet President Pratibha Patil and will be chief guest at the Republic Day parade on Saturday. He will also meet leader of Opposition LK Advani.

While Sarkozy meets Indian leaders, the French businessmen and officials will attend a day-long interaction with their Indian counterparts. The French are keen to explore the possibility of gaining a larger share of the booming Indian market, including defence and infrastructure projects.

As one of India's major arms suppliers, France is hoping to revive its bid for a $600-million contract for supply of 197 helicopters that New Delhi scrapped in December with Eurocopter, a unit of European space giant EADS.

India and France are likely to sign a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in education and sign agreements on garbage management and water purification.

Sarkozy will also address a joint session of Indian and French business leaders at a meeting hosted by the Confederation of the Indian Industry (CII) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci).

On the second day, Sarkozy "" it is clear that his super-model girlfriend Carla Bruni is not a part of the delegation "" is likely to visit the Taj Mahal.

A communique issued by the French government in Paris said the visit would give Sarkozy an opportunity to discuss cooperation in developing India's civilian nuclear energy and defence contracts.

Over the last decade-and-a-half, French investments in India have reached $1.76 billion, which pales in comparison with investments from other countries. The bilateral trade between the two countries crossed $6.2 billion during 2005-06.

Meanwhile, an Indian business delegation led by CII President Sunil Bharti Mittal raised the issue of work permits and cooperation in defence and infrastructure at a meeting with Sarkozy in Paris.