The French Consulate General in Atlanta has announced that on July 11 a memorandum of understanding is to be signed on behalf of the city of Atlanta and the area of Paris known as Greater Roissy where Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport is located.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, Jean-Claude Detilleux representing the Paris Region Development Office and Elisabeth LeMasson of the Paris airports are to sign the memorandum during a ceremony at Atlanta City Hall.
According to a press release from the consulate, the partnership is to assist companies in the environs of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and the Paris airports to expand their international operations.
Under the memorandum, Atlanta-based companies will be encouraged to investigate Greater Roissy as a location in which to expand their operations, and, vice-versa, Paris Region Development partners will direct local French companies toward Atlanta when they are looking for a North American location.
The area surrounding Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport is one of the major links for growth and job creation in the Paris region. It currently provides more than 260,000 private sector jobs.
More than half a million jobs are attributed to Hartsfield-Jackson.
The memorandum also calls for Atlanta and the Greater Roissy area to jointly prospect for companies in emerging countries seeking to expand internationally and, eventually, to create an international network of airport areas.
“This kind of initiative is welcome to boost international business exchanges and foreign investments,” Pascal Le Deunff, consul general of France in Atlanta, said in the release.
“France already has about 100 French affiliates in the state of Georgia, mostly in the Metro Atlanta area, creating 15,000 jobs. I expect these numbers to increase significantly with this new MOU.”
Discussions concerning the MOU were initiated during the France-Atlanta project last year and Mr. Reed’s visit to Paris in January.
To learn more about Greater Roissy, go here.
To learn more about France-Atlanta initiatives, go here.
