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France to end India's nuclear isolation
Sun-Jan 18, 2009
New Delhi / Press Trust of India
After the end of its 34-year nuclear isolation, India will receive its first consignment of uranium from abroad shortly from France, a country which is also proposing to build six future generation atomic plants in this country as soon as possible.
French company Areva will sell 300 tonnes of uranium to India's fuel-starved nuclear plants and the delivery is expected in a few months.
"Negotiations have advanced to a point where we expect delivery within the next few months," French President's Diplomatic Adviser Jean-David Levitte told reporters in New Delhi.
This will be the first consignment of nuclear fuel that India will receive from abroad in 34 years.
India was barred from having nuclear cooperation with the international community since it conducted first atomic tests in 1974.
The ban ended in September last year when the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), a group of 45 countries governing global nuclear trade, gave a one-time waiver to India for civil nuclear cooperation.
Levitte said Areva is also proposing to construct six powerful future generation atomic plants of 1600 MW capacity in India.
Negotiations between Areva and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) are underway and these are hoped to be completed within this year, said the top aide of President Nicolas Sarkozy.
The reactors proposed to be constructed are third generation plants of 1600 MW, he said. Once the negotiations are completed, construction will take up to seven years before the plants can produce electricity.
He underlined the fact that France is a leader in nuclear field. At least 80 per cent of the country's electricity is produced from 60 nuclear plants and is the safest in the world, Levitte added.
Noting that India, like France, does not have much hydrocarbon resources, he said his country was ready to help India in the civil nuclear field.
Levitte also pointed out that after India conducted atomic tests in 1998, the then French President Jacques Chirac had reached out to India and sought an end to its isolation in the field.
French company Areva will sell 300 tonnes of uranium to India's fuel-starved nuclear plants and the delivery is expected in a few months.
"Negotiations have advanced to a point where we expect delivery within the next few months," French President's Diplomatic Adviser Jean-David Levitte told reporters in New Delhi.
This will be the first consignment of nuclear fuel that India will receive from abroad in 34 years.
India was barred from having nuclear cooperation with the international community since it conducted first atomic tests in 1974.
The ban ended in September last year when the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), a group of 45 countries governing global nuclear trade, gave a one-time waiver to India for civil nuclear cooperation.
Levitte said Areva is also proposing to construct six powerful future generation atomic plants of 1600 MW capacity in India.
Negotiations between Areva and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) are underway and these are hoped to be completed within this year, said the top aide of President Nicolas Sarkozy.
The reactors proposed to be constructed are third generation plants of 1600 MW, he said. Once the negotiations are completed, construction will take up to seven years before the plants can produce electricity.
He underlined the fact that France is a leader in nuclear field. At least 80 per cent of the country's electricity is produced from 60 nuclear plants and is the safest in the world, Levitte added.
Noting that India, like France, does not have much hydrocarbon resources, he said his country was ready to help India in the civil nuclear field.
Levitte also pointed out that after India conducted atomic tests in 1998, the then French President Jacques Chirac had reached out to India and sought an end to its isolation in the field.
The top French official also advocated the need for reform of "outdated" international institutions like the UN to pave the way for the entry of "emerging power" India.
He said the UN, which came into being in 1940s when there were only 60 independent countries in the world, was no longer relevant in the contemporary situation when the number of free nations has gone up to nearly 200.
Issues, that need to be dealt with, have also proliferated.
Levitte also favoured expansion of G-8 to include India, China, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa, saying the organisation was not reflecting the current world realities, a fact highlighted by the global financial crisis.
"We need bold capitalism to build economy and not speculation," he said. "It is high time to reform international institutions."
Pitching for greater Indian involvement in world affairs, Levitte said India might have suffered less due to the financial crisis but it cannot escape the bigger and serious problem in the long run. "So we should act together," he said.
He said the UN, which came into being in 1940s when there were only 60 independent countries in the world, was no longer relevant in the contemporary situation when the number of free nations has gone up to nearly 200.
Issues, that need to be dealt with, have also proliferated.
Levitte also favoured expansion of G-8 to include India, China, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa, saying the organisation was not reflecting the current world realities, a fact highlighted by the global financial crisis.
"We need bold capitalism to build economy and not speculation," he said. "It is high time to reform international institutions."
Pitching for greater Indian involvement in world affairs, Levitte said India might have suffered less due to the financial crisis but it cannot escape the bigger and serious problem in the long run. "So we should act together," he said.
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