Sarkozy arrives in Mumbai; to pay homage to 26/11 victims

MUMBAI: French President Nicolas Sarkozy will pay homage to victims of the 26/11 terror attacks and also address business leaders in the country's financial capital today.

Sarkozy, who along with his wife Carla Bruni arrived here on the last leg of his four-day India visit, is first scheduled to pay a visit to the Police Memorial on Marine Drive, dedicated to security men killed in fighting terrorists during the 2008 attacks.

He will then take part in a special memorial service to be held at the Trident-Oberoi Hotel, another site which was attacked, where he is also expected to make an address, official sources said.

166 people were killed by ten terrorists who stormed South Mumbai late on November 26, 2008, targeting a pub, two luxury hotels, country's oldest and biggest railway terminus (CST), a Jewish centre and a hospital, among others.

The final programme in Sarkozy's Mumbai itinerary will be an address to business leaders jointly organised by industry bodies CII and FICCI and to be attended by Indian and French business leaders.

The event will be held at Hotel Taj Mahal Palace, another site of the dastardly strike, and will be preceded by signing of an agreement between CII and France's The Movement Des Enterprises De France International for extending trade relations, according to a CII executive.

Sarkozy is scheduled to fly back to France after the one-hour meeting with business leaders, though it was not clear if there will be any definite agreements signed during the meet.