Ambassador of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to India Peggy Frantzen has said that there is greater potential for cooperation between her country and India, including Tamil Nadu, especially in the fintech and automotive sectors.
Speaking to The Hindu after meeting Chief Minister MK Stalin and Industries Minister Thangam Thennarasu in Chennai on Tuesday, she said the state government was keen on more collaborations and attracting investments from Luxembourg, especially in the automobile sector which has a large presence in Tamil Nadu.
Although Luxembourg does not have many companies that make cars, it has a strong presence of car component manufacturers. Frantzen hoped to have Luxembourg’s participation in Tamil Nadu’s Global Investors Meet scheduled in Chennai next January. As Luxembourg was a founding member of the European Union, the ambassador felt that Indian companies operating there, especially in the automotive sector, would have access to a wider market. Luxembourg is a financial hub and there was great potential for cooperation in the fintech sector, she said, noting that the country had developed a green stock exchange, the first in the world, along with the necessary legislation.
The ambassador visited the IIT Madras Research Park and hoped that Memoranda of Understanding would be signed in the near future for collaboration with start-ups in areas such as health technology, biomedicine and even space travel. She said there were greater opportunities for collaboration with start-ups here.
She highlighted how Luxembourg collaborated with the Indian Space Research Organisation, which launched four nanosatellites for the country in 2019.
Virtual summit in 2020
Many key areas were identified for cooperation during the 2020 virtual summit between the Indian Prime Minister and his counterpart in Luxembourg. She said there was room for cooperation in solar technology since Luxembourg is also part of the International Solar Alliance. While approximately 100 Indian students enrolled in graduate and post-doctoral programs each year at institutions in Luxembourg, she hoped for efforts to attract more Indian students. She said there was collaboration with institutions like IIT Madras, IIT Bombay and IIT Kanpur for exchange of students.
