French President Jacques Chirac has said that his country favoured lifting of the ban on nuclear technology exports to India.
In an interview with India Today magazine, Chirac said that such a move will allow companies like Paris-based Areva SA to supply nuclear plants to meet India's growing energy needs.
Help lift N-curbs on India: Singh tells France
Presently, a United States law prohibits the export of any such technology that may assist the nuclear programme of any nation, which is not a signatory of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. With the Indo-US nuclear ties improving manifold, France is keen on assisting India in meeting its civilian energy requirement.
"France was the first to argue on an international level to allow India, a responsible power, access to civil nuclear technologies," Chirac said in the interview. "France is firmly engaged beside India to evolve the rules," he added.
"It is a priority objective for us to obtain special status for India from the Nuclear Safety Group. France is pressing for agreement to allow India access to nuclear technology among the 15 countries belonging to the NSG, and that a deal will depend on US President Bush," Chirac told the magazine.
Text of Chirac-Singh joint statement
Other members of the NSG include Canada, Finland, Russia, Spain, Germany, Brazil, UK, South Africa, Korea, Japan, Hungary, and China.
India and France had, during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Paris late last year, resolved to take the already vibrant bilateral relationship between the two countries to a new and higher level, and work together on issues such as the fight against terrorism and prevention of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
France to fully cooperate with India in civilian N-energy
Both sides had also recognised that nuclear energy provided a safe, environmental friendly and sustainable source of energy and that there was a need to further develop international cooperation in promoting the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
Dr Singh had said that India will be willing to separate its military and civil nuclear facilities and impose safeguards required by the International Atomic Energy Agency - moves intended to ease the way for nuclear-technology imports.
Chirac is due to meet Dr Singh in New Delhi on February 19. French executives, including Areva head Anne Lauvergeon, will accompany him.
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