Visit of the French Ambassador to Mumbai
H.E. Mr Alexandre Ziegler, Ambassador of France to India was on a visit to Mumbai to strengthen Indo-French cooperation.
French honours for actor Kalki Koechlin and CEO of Business Services - CapGemini Group, Aruna Jayanthi.
Mumbai, 22 - 23 June 2018
The Ambassador of France to India, H.E. Mr Alexandre Ziegler, undertook a two-day trip in Mumbai on 22-23 June 2018 to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the sustainable urban mobility, cultural, academic and corporate sectors.
On Friday, 22 June, Ambassador Ziegler started his day with a visit of the Mumbai Metro One office for an overview of the train management system as well as a hands-on experience of driving a train in the simulator room. The Mumbai Metro One Line was built with French expertise in sustainable Mass Rapid Transport Systems, involving French companies SYSTRA and Veolia Transport.
Ambassador Ziegler met Mr Saurabh Gupta, founder of Earth5R, a global social enterprise working on guiding citizens towards sustainable livelihood models. Mr Gupta was selected for the India-France Young Leaders Club, which is aimed at creating partnerships between young movers and shakers of the two countries for establishing an influential advisory network to promote bilateral action. Thereafter, Ambassador Ziegler jointly laid the foundation stone of an ultra-modern video game development studio being built under an industry-academic partnership between France’s Ubisoft, known for its interactive videogames, and India’s prestigious IIT Bombay.
In the evening, Ambassador Ziegler conferred the French distinction of Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) on versatile actor Kalki Koechlin, who has contributed to enhancing Indo-French ties in cinema. The honour comes in recognition of an actor engagé who has interpreted striking roles in the Indian film industry, experimented with various forms of films as well as shown an abiding commitment to important social issues.
On Saturday, 23 June, the French ambassador laid the foundation stone for a new building of the French International School of Bombay. One of the strongest entities of the French presence in India, the school offers a bilingual French-English curriculum right from kindergarten to its students who are from almost a dozen different countries. The school is open to everyone who would like to take admission there and looks forward to more Indian students joining France’s renowned education system.
Ambassador Ziegler concluded his Mumbai trip with the conferral of the prestigious French award of Knight of the Order of the Legion of Honour (Chevalier dans l’Ordre de la Légion d’Honneur) on Ms Aruna Jayanthi, CEO of Business Services - CapGemini Group. The award comes in acknowledgement of her vision transforming CapGemini India into a leading IT company.