By IANS,
New Delhi: Congratulating India for the “remarkable conduct” of the Indian general elections, France Sunday underlined its keen desire to intensify bilateral ties and reaffirmed support for a bigger role for India in global bodies.
In a letter to his Indian counterpart Pratibha Patil, French President Nicolas Sarkozy paid tribute to “the faithfulness of the largest democracy in the world to the values of liberty, people’s sovereignty and respect of diversity in secularism.”
Sarkozy also expressed his “delight” at pursuing and intensifying the strategic partnership “which links our two countries in the service of peace, sustainable development and the fight against global scourges such as international terrorism.”
He reaffirmed France’s support for rightful place for India in international multilateral institutions “so as to build a controlled globalisation in the service of human development and peace”.
France has backed India for a permanent seat in an expanded UN Security Council. India’s relations with France touched a new peak last year when Paris became the first country to sign a bilateral civil nuclear cooperation pact with New Delhi.