French investors to invest in def, agri sectors in UP

Lucknow: Investors in France have expressed willingness to invest in Uttar Pradesh in various sectors, including defence, agriculture, dairy, food processing, IT, renewable energy and water transport, officials said on Tuesday.

A state delegation led by Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and IT minister Yogendra Upadhyay reached Paris on Monday and met representatives of a number of big industrial houses, according to officials. The visit of the delegation was part of the series of roadshows being carried out by the state government in various countries. The delegation invited the French investors to Uttar Pradesh for the Global Investors Summit scheduled to be held from February 10-12 next year.

During the meeting with Maurya, Business France's Asia and Pacific Area Coordinator Jean Francois Ambrosio expressed his intention to further strengthen Indo-French bilateral ties through partnerships in the fields of food processing, agriculture and dairy. The delegation also met Gunjan Bhardwaj from Partex NV which signed a Rs 1,000 crore investment intent to set up AMRUT -- a patient data exchange in Varanasi to harness the power of artificial intelligence in the healthcare system. Meanwhile, another delegation led by state minister Swatantra Dev Singh visited Singapore for a roadshow.

The business community of Singapore discussed various investment opportunities and incentives being provided by the Uttar Pradesh government, according to officials. The delegation visited the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) and discussed partnerships in various areas. Singapore's minister for sustainability and environment Grace Foo Hai Yen said that since Singapore is a very small country with limited resources of water and land, people there pay special attention to hygiene and cleanliness. The tours and roadshows are part of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's efforts to make the state a USD 1-trillion economy in the next five years by bringing foreign investment to the tune of Rs 10 lakh crore. As many as eight teams comprising state's ministers and senior officials are visiting 18 countries.