At the first Indo-French nuke industry meet, French ambassador to India Jerome Bonnafont expressed France’s desire to conclude a nuclear deal with India.
MUMBAI: It is now official. India has become one of the hottest nuclear markets. This was reflected at the first Indo-French nuclear industry meet where the French ambassador to India Jerome Bonnafont expressed France’s desire to conclude a nuclear deal with India.
“The agreement is being processed by both the countries. France would like to see the deal getting finalised as soon as possible,” he said while speaking to the media on the sidelines of the first Indo-French nuclear
industry business meet.
Anil Kakodkar, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, too dropped a hint about France’s interest in selling reactors. When asked about the nature of the deal, he said once the deal gets approval, it won't be only about the import of fuel. “You can’t have fuel alone, you need reactors as well,” he said.
Bonnafont said the Indo-French nuclear deal too would be subject to the same IAEA safeguards and Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) clearance. These are the same clearances which are necessary for the passage of the much-talked-about Indo-US nuclear deal.
Though the timing of the Indo-French nuclear industry meet is intriguing considering the political storm in which the Indo-US deal finds itself in, experts say that without the conclusion of the Indo-US deal, no bilateral deal will be clinched with any other country.
France is looking at India as a potential market for its reactors, while India also needs to butter up France as it is an influential member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Also, with France, India has one more option available for uranium import.
Meanwhile, Kakodkar’s term has been extended by two more years.
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