India, France likely to sign deal for nuclear fuel supply

Kolkata, Sept 22 (PTI) Having secured the National
Suppliers Group (N.S.G.) waiver, India is likely to sign
bilateral agreements with France for supply of nuclear fuel
during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Paris next
week and a similar deal with Russia later this year, External
Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Monday.

Singh, who left Monday on a 10-day trip to the U.S. and
France, is expected to firm up an agreement on civil nuclear
energy cooperation after summit talks with President Nicholas
Sarkozy in Paris on September 30.
"We are trying for bilateral agreements with several
countries. Prime Minister may consider it when he visits
France for the India-European Union Summit" next week,
Mukherjee told a convention on 'Indo-U.S. civil nuclear
cooperation and its future impact' here.

A similar deal is also likely to be signed with Russia
during President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to India in December
this year.

Expressing hope that the U.S. Congress would ratify the
123 Agreement by September 25, the minister said that although
the ratification was pending, it would not prevent India from
having bilateral agreements with other countries for supply of
nuclear fuel.

"India specific safety agreement is just a passport to
enter into nuclear trade with any country. We now need a
visa," he said.

Responding to criticism that the 123 Agreement would
compromise India's sovereignty, Mukherjee said "there is
nothing in that agreement, nor in the India specific
safeguards agreement, nor in the waiver by the N.S.G., that
can compromise India's decision-making." PTI SBR
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