Shri P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Hon’ble Minister of Civil Aviation of India, received H.E. Mr. Alain Vidalies, French Minister of State for Transport, Marine Affairs and Fisheries, who is currently on an official visit to India (11th to 13th April 2017) to strengthen Indo-French cooperation on transport.
In the presence of the two ministers, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC) was signed to further the active technical cooperation programme between the two countries. Providing for exchanges of officials and the sharing of technical know-how, the agreement will be beneficial for the long-term enhancement of skills and expertise.
The MoU was signed H.E. Mr. Alexandre Ziegler, Ambassador of France to India, representing the French side, and Mr. A. K. Dutta, Member (ANS) of the Airports Authority of India, representing the Indian side.
Originally initiated in 2010, the renewal of the Indo-French cooperation agreement under this MoU comes at a crucial time when the Indian aviation industry is booming, requiring a highly skilled workforce. Several teams of Indian officials have already visited Toulouse and Paris, in France, under this technical cooperation programme.
In a reflection of the rich and decades-old history of active collaboration, recently a new Master’s in ANSP Management was conducted jointly by French and AAI training institutes in Hyderabad. The third intake of Indian students for this course has just started, taking the total number of trainees to over 100.