India major focus of France's presidency of European Union: French envoy

French Ambassador Emmanuel Lenain called for "greater academic mobility" between India and the European Union, saying that would be the "best investment" in the future of the partnership

India is a major focus of France's presidency of the European Union and deepening political relations between the 27-nation bloc and New Delhi should go hand-in-hand with greater people-to-people ties, French Ambassador Emmanuel Lenain has said.

The envoy also called for "greater academic mobility" between India and the European Union, saying that would be the "best investment" in the future of the partnership.

Mr. Lenain was speaking at an event on Friday evening to mark the 35th anniversary of the European Union (EU) Erasmus-plus programme that was established in 1987 to support education for students from across the globe as well as to encourage partnerships between universities.

The French envoy said more than 6,000 Indian students have travelled to Europe to date under the Erasmus programme, adding it showed how much the EU values student mobility with India. "For the last two years, France has been the country welcoming the highest number of Erasmus scholarship holders and we are very proud of it," Mr. Lenain said.

"India is a major focus of France's ongoing presidency of the Council of the EU. France strongly believes that the deepening political relations between the EU and India should go hand-in-hand with greater academic mobility and people-to-people ties," he said.

The French envoy further said: "It is the best investment we can make in the future of the EU-India partnership." In January, France took over the presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) from Slovenia. This year, the EU and India are celebrating 60 years of strategic partnership.