India and France have a long-standing strategic partnership based on mutual trust and consultation. The Indo-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IFCCI) established in 1977 is one of the most active bilateral chambers in India that promotes mutually beneficial trade relations between India and France.

To celebrate the 45th year and the successful existence of the chamber, the Indo-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IFCCI) invited Catherine Colonna, French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, as the Chief Guest and their founding members: Nadir Godrej, Chairman and Managing Director (Godrej Industries Ltd.), Ruzbeh Irani, President of Group HR (Mahindra Group), and Harish Bhat, Brand Custodian (Tata Sons) to grace the occasion.

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The event witnessed the gathering of over 280+ business leaders from top French and Indian companies at the grand Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai. The event started off with welcome remarks and an announcement of newly elected governing council members by Payal S. Kanwar, Director General, IFCCI.

Each year, IFCCI has a theme around which they base their leadership discussions.

This year’s theme was “Achieving sustainability in challenging times” which revolved around how leaders are envisioning growth and meeting their sustainability goals in a challenging and complex business environment.

Addressing the gathering, Catherine Colonna, French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, said, “French companies have always believed and invested in India’s amazing economic potential. More than that, they play a key role in the broader Indo-French partnership for the planet. Through both public support and private sector initiatives, France is India’s steadfast partner to achieve the ecological, urban and energy transitions.”

The event witnessed Panel discussions among CXOs where the theme “Achieving sustainability in challenging times” was discussed. Top honchos of French and Indian companies were seen discussing and putting forward their ideas on the table which could help create effective sustainability options for corporates which would in turn help them grow further.

One person cannot change the world alone and needs the support of their peers so that they can envision their goals. This is where networking becomes important, making friends with other nationalities, and understanding their views benefits the community and is a great way to start to help achieve sustainability.

We must push our corporates to constantly innovate and offer better options to create sustainability. Through lobbying local companies to go green we can make a positive change in our communities.

Working with them to create sustainable technology for the long run doubles up as an even bigger accomplishment as it can help the economy and investors will always be looking to improve and innovate.

Speaking at the occasion, Sumeet Anand, President of IFCCI said, “India is emerging as a preferred partner of growth and competitivity for our member companies and is projected to grow faster than China for each of the next 5 years. India is perfectly aligned to be a preferred partner for France for trade and investment in all 3 areas.”

– Domestic market at scale

– Talent for India and the world

– Competitive low-cost manufacturing base for an increasing number of sectors

It may also be recollected that during the second wave of COVID-19 in India, France supported India with a massive solidarity mission launched at the request of the President of the French Republic. The operation was implemented by the Embassy of France in India led along with IFCCI and Team France.

During this mission, a total of 55 crores (6.1 million euros) were raised from 55 French and Indian groups by donating 29 state-of-the-art French-made oxygen-generating plants to Indian hospitals across the country.

For this initiative, Indo-French Chamber won an award for Best Solidarity Initiative at CCI France International Awards Ceremony in Paris. The award was received by Payal S. Kanwar, Director General, and Sumeet Anand, President, IFCCI, and the event was attended by 500 global leaders from more than 70 countries in the presence of Frank Riester, Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness.

IFCCI has previously won more awards in 2018 and 2019 for Best Performance and Best Contribution respectively.

Established in 1977, the Indo-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry belongs to a worldwide network of 124 French Chambers (CCIFI) in 95 countries with over 37,000 companies.

One of the most active bilateral chambers in India, the Indo-French Chamber is a private association that promotes mutually beneficial trade relations between India & France. IFCCI represents a dynamic business platform of over 650 company members and a total network of more than 6,500 individual members.

Headquartered in Mumbai, IFCCI has four offices in New Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad.