Visit to India of Mr. Bernard Kouchner December (20-21), 2007

Mr. Bernard Kouchner, Hon’ble French Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, visited India from 20th December 2007.

On 20th December, Mr. Kouchner met Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, Hon’ble Indian Minister of External Affairs. The two ministers discussed different aspects of our bilateral relations and current international issues. Mr Kouchner called on Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, President of the Congress Party.

Mr. Kouchner also met the French community in New Delhi.

On 21st December, Mr. Kouchner met Dr. Manmohan Singh, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India. Further, the Minister participated in a debate with Indian NGOs on the theme of “International Solidarity for Health” in the presence of Mr. Oscar Fernandes, Hon’ble Indian Minister of Labour and Employment and Chairman of the Parliamentary Forum on AIDS, Mr. Anand Sharma, Hon’ble Minister of State for External Affairs, and Mr. Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director of the Global Fund to fight AIDS.

Franco-Indian relations form part of a strategic partnership defined in 1998 by both the countries which committed themselves to strengthening their bilateral relations in all areas.

The visit of the Hon’ble Minister thus testifies to our deep attachment to the reinforcement of our bilateral relations and give a boost to existing cooperations, whether they be industrial, scientific, technical or university cooperations. Moreover, this would enable us to intensify our dialogue with India on global challenges, especially the environment and the fight against global warming, public health and the fight against emerging diseases.

 To refer to the bio-data of Mr. Bernard Kouchner please click here.