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France backs India to develop nuclear energy

2005-09-12 Backing India's plans to develop civilian nuclear energy, France today agreed to work with the Nuclear Suppliers Group and other countries towards this objective.

Appreciating India's strong commitment to preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and ongoing steps it was taking in this regard, both countries decided to work out a bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement, a four-page joint statement issued after wide-ranging talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and French President Jacques Chirac said here.

"France acknowledges the need for full international civilian nuclear cooperation with India and will work towards this objective by working with other countries and the NSG and by deepening bilateral relations," the statement said.

In order to further strengthen the defence relationship, the two countries will hold discussions to finalize a framework agreement on defence cooperation at an early date, the statement said. "Our strategic partnership in the field of defence industries has been newly illustrated by the confirmation given by the Government of India of its decision to purchase Scorpene submarines," it said.

The Prime Minister thanked France for its constant and firm support for India's candidature for permanent membership of the UN Security Council.

Meeting on the eve of the UN high-level summit, the two leaders signalled their intention to take the already vibrant relationship between India and France to a "new and higher level".

They also pledged to strengthen cooperation in dealing with global challenges and work together on issues such as the fight against terrorism, prevention of proliferation of WMDs, and promoting development which is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable.

The two sides decided to work towards effective management of globalisation and in the fight against pandemics.

The two countries reaffirmed support for the reform of the UN system to make the world body stronger, more representative and more capable of responding in the best possible manner to today's challenges in the areas of international peace, security and development.

Keeping global energy requirements in mind and the necessity to combat global warming, they recognised the need to strengthen energy security and promote the development of stable, sustainable, efficient and affordable energy sources.

Both countries shared the view that nuclear energy provided a safe, environmental friendly and sustainable source of energy and underlined the need to further develop international cooperation in promoting the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

The statement said the visit of the Prime Minister at the invitation of President Chirac "illustrates the importance attached by the two countries to the strategic partnership, initiated in January 1998".

The reasons which called for close relations between the two countries at that time are even stronger today in the context of a reconfiguration of the global balance of power, the emergence of India as a great power being one of its most significant features, it said.

The two sides also agreed to pursue their cooperation in the space sector.

On the economic front, they pledged to double bilateral trade within five years and work towards forging business partnerships in priority sectors like infrastructure, information technology, pharmaceuticals, environment, advanced and new technologies, food processing, automobiles and aeronautics.

Chirac conveyed France's willingness to welcome more Indian students in French universities and 'Grandes Ecoles' and put into place an ambitious policy of scholarships and exchange programmes.

In the cultural field, a major exhibition of art from the Gupta period will be held in the Grand Palais in 2007. It will be an occasion to share this unique Indian cultural heritage with a large French audience, it said .

As part of high-level visits, Chirac accepted Singh's invitation to visit India on February 20-21, 2006.