France welcomes the civil nuclear agreement between India and the U.S. as it offers a way forward to nuclear cooperation without changing the nuclear liability law, French Embassy sources said on Wednesday.
Reiterating the stated French position that “France would work within the framework of Indian law,” sources informed that Paris is awaiting details of the agreement reached between New Delhi and Washington, which it would study in detail to assess if it fits their own requirements.
India and France finalised a civil nuclear deal in 2010, under which the French are to set up a total of six reactors of 1,650 MW each at Jaitapur in Maharashtra.
Adding that the India-France civil nuclear deal “is a project of great significance for both the countries,” embassy sources highlighted that large parts of the nuclear reactors would be made in India.
Technical teams from both sides are working out the details.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and Minister of Ecology Segolene Royal are in India to attend the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS) from Thursday and the bilateral component is largely focussed on negotiations towards the global climate summit in Paris in December as well as projects in renewable energy and urban development.
Global nations are under pressure to clinch a deal at the Paris summit to cut down carbon emissions and limit the global temperature rise to two degrees.
France has pledged $1.3 billion for renewable energy projects in India and is set to double that amount, embassy sources added.
