We expect to such pacs with other European partners too: PM.
Scripting a new era in bilateral ties, India and France today signed a landmark pact on civil nuclear cooperation that covers supply of reactors and atomic fuel. This is New Delhi’s first concrete step into the nuclear mainstream after 34 years of isolation.
“We expect to finalise agreements with other European partners too,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said after holding talks with President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace here.
France is the first country to have opened up to nuclear commerce with India after the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group’s (NSG’s) permission earlier this month.
The Indo-US nuclear deal is awaiting congressional nod and an agreement between the two countries is expected soon.
“Today we have added a new dimension to our strategic partnership by signing an inter-governmental agreement on civil nuclear cooperation,” Singh said after the Indo-France Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement was signed in the presence of the two leaders by Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.
The agreement will form the basis of cooperation in fields ranging from basic and applied research to full civil nuclear cooperation, including reactors, fuel supplies, nuclear safety, radiation and environment protection, and nuclear fuel cycle management.
The atomic pact was one of the three agreements signed during Singh’s two-day visit to Paris. One of these relates to social security matters and will benefit Indian and French nationals staying in each other’s countries for up to five years and a long-term agreement on utilisation of Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle launch services.
“France is the first country with whom we have entered into such an agreement after the lifting of international restrictions on civil nuclear cooperation with India by the NSG. I conveyed to President Sarkozy our gratitude for France’s consistent support to our civil nuclear initiative,” Singh said.
The two countries decided to give an impetus to cooperation for the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
A statement on the agreement said both sides recognised nuclear energy as a reliable source of sustainable and non-polluting energy that could make a significant contribution to meeting the global challenge of achieving energy security.
