French President Macron expresses solidarity with PM Modi in aftermath of cyclone Amphan

French President Emmanuel Macron has conveyed his condolence and expressed his solidarity in the aftermath of cyclone Amphan which hit eastern India last month, in a letter to Narendra Modi.

According to French Diplomatic sources, Macron has finished finalizing a concessional loan of 200 million euros, which will bolster the World Bank in providing additional social protection to the most vulnerable in India.

"President Macron also underscored the importance of cooperation b/w 2 countries at multilateral level & support that India will be in a position to extend to France’s actions initiated under G20 & to the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator initiative," according to the diplomatic sources.

Meanwhile, France continues to top foreign investment inflows in Europe according to Business France’s 2019 Annual Report on Foreign Investment in France.

The cyclone Amphan that made landfall near West Bengal's Digha, ripped through the coastal districts of the two states-West Bengal and Odisha-and lay waste to standing crops in thousands of hectares, uprooted trees, blew off electric poles and communication towers.

Notably, electricity, water supply, cellular network, and several other essential services remain non-functional in several areas across Kolkata, even as much as over 50 hours after the disaster.

Several relief camps have come up in the districts, where hapless people have queued up for two squares of meal and shelter after their homes being either blown or washed away.