France today appreciated India's initiatives for addressing climate change concerns by making it an integral part of its urban missions.
During a meeting with visiting French Minister of State for Industry Christophe Sirugue here, Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu said sustainable and climate-friendly planning have been made the cornerstone of the urban missions launched by the government in the last two years.
Increased emphasis on public transport and non-motorised transport, technology-based Intelligent Transport Systems, focus on new and renewable sources of energy and conversion of solid waste into compost and energy are some of the climate-friendly initiatives mandated under the new urban missions, he said.
Appreciating India's role in the COP-21 Agreement at Paris, Sirugue said these initiatives go on to prove the country's commitment to address climate change concerns.
He also said urban renaissance is the appropriate word for the Indian government's initiatives to recast the urban landscape.
New urban sector initiatives and the possible areas of cooperation between the two countries in these areas were discussed at a meeting.
Sirugue said France has already signed MoU for assisting in developing Chandigarh, Nagpur and Puducherry as smart cities, and has the necessary expertise to assist in execution of the new urban sector initiatives on a large scale.
A French delegation will visit Andhra Pradesh's capital city Amaravati on November 30 to explore collaboration opportunities, he said.
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