France to set up aircraft manufacturing unit in India

France intends to set up aircraft manufacturing and training facilities unit in India in a bid to gain a bigger foothold in the country's growing aviation market and also expand bilateral trade.

"We foresee greater co-operation between both countries especially in the aeronautical sector. We are planning to set up aircraft manufacturing and training facilities here," Dominique Girard, French ambassador to India, said.

His comments, during a function here on Sunday, come months after officials of France-based Airbus Industrie said the aircraft manufacturer plans to outsource as much as 60% of its production and intends to allocate more work to India and China.

Such a move will help the European aircraft maker gain more customers in India as the national carrier Indian has placed orders for 43 aircraft with Airbus. Besides, private airlines like Kingfisher are also major customers of the aircraft maker.

Girard said he expected bilateral trade, which has already crossed the $3 billion mark, to more than double in the next five years.

"Besides setting up these facilities in the aeronautics sector, we also plan to bring in technology transfer so that both countries can benefit through joint research and development," he said.