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India, France sign 5 nuclear pacts

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India, France sign 5 nuclear pacts

India and France on Monday signed seven agreements, including five in the area of nuclear energy, to pave the way for more intensive cooperation in this sector.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who presided over the signing of the pacts, resolved to double bilateral trade to €12 billion.

During a 90-minute interaction, the two leaders touched on areas such as defence, infrastructure, energy, space, research and development, and joint ventures where cooperation could be stepped up.

Dr. Singh and Mr. Sarkozy also discussed cooperation in counter-terrorism and the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Asked about Pakistan's role in combating terrorism, Mr. Sarkozy noted that France had lost two of its nationals in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Along with economic development, he said, Pakistan must maintain the resolve to fight terrorism.

“I appreciate India's initiative to reach out to Pakistan after the attacks,” he said, hoping that the two countries would follow the example of the European Union, whose members buried centuries of hostility to develop and grow together.

No defence pact yet

In the area of defence, the presence of CEOs of most major French armament companies could not seal any agreement.

“We are going to sign the agreement soon. We are delighted that India places trust in us,” Mr. Sarkozy said of the long-pending agreement to upgrade the Indian Air Force's (IAF) Mirage fighters.

He pitched for the French fighter Rafael, which is one of the six competitors for a mega IAF tender for fighter planes. He also offered to cooperate with India in developing a fifth generation fighter aircraft.

Dr. Singh, in his opening remarks, termed France “India's most important and reliable defence partner” and acknowledged its supply of advanced defence technologies to the Indian armed forces.

Besides the five pacts in civil nuclear cooperation, one each was signed for co-production of films and cooperation in the Earth System Science and Climate.

Maharashtra reactors

The highlight of Mr. Sarkozy's visit was a pact for the construction of two French nuclear power reactors in Maharashtra. The number may go up to six, with Dr. Singh hoping that the nuclear park would ultimately supply 10,000 MW of electricity to the Indian grid. He compared this potential to the total indigenous installed capacity of 4,000 MW from nuclear energy.

At the same time, however, Dr. Singh indicated that several details remained to be filled in for the agreement to become operational.

“The framework agreement has been signed between Areva and NPCIL. There are issues with regard to other technical matters, including pricing. These are the subject matter of negotiations,” the Prime Minister said at a media interaction that followed the signing of the agreements.

Official sources said another impediment was the lack of an inter-governmental agreement with Japan, whose companies would supply some critical components to Areva.

“Several other agreements to expand interaction in the nuclear sector to areas such as research and training of scientists and students, nuclear safety, nuclear waste management and regulatory practices have been concluded,” Dr. Singh said.

France has offered to invest over €10 billion in India over the next two years if India liberalised the norms for multi-brand retail and insurance sectors.

The Hindu : News / National : India, France sign 5 nuclear pacts
 
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i said earlier Pakistan will not allow any deal until we get our own nuclear deal with France. :pakistan:

The Express Tribune
France-India nuclear deal: Pakistan sees serious strategic implications – The Express Tribune



France-India nuclear deal: Pakistan sees serious strategic implications

The Foreign Office spokesperson said there should be criteria for all countries to have access to the civilian nuclear technology.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has expressed concerns over the civilian nuclear deal between France and India, saying the move has ‘serious strategic implications’ for the region.

The Foreign Office spokesperson said there should be criteria for all countries to have access to the civilian nuclear technology.

“Creating exception for India is not only a step backwards in terms of promoting peaceful nuclear cooperation but it also has security implications for the region,” Abdul Basit told The Express Tribune here.

Pakistan believes that the selective approach of Western countries to provide civilian nuclear technology can create imbalance of power in the subcontinent.

“In view of these agreements, Indian military nuclear facilities will have more nuclear fuel and this is certainly a cause for concern to us,” cautioned an official, who is part of the country’s nuclear establishment.

Pakistan has been seeking civilian nuclear technology since long from the powerful countries, including the US.

However, its request hasn’t yet been heeded by the Western nuclear suppliers, as they question Pakistan’s track record.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 7th, 2010.
 
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here it is,


http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-n...France-backs-Indiastyle-Ndeal-for-Pakistan-FM
France backs India-style N-deal for Pakistan: FM
Published: May 16, 2009


France backs India-style N-deal for Pakistan: FM

PARIS (Reuters/AFP) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy told his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari he wanted Pakistan to have a wide-ranging deal to buy nuclear equipment like the one obtained by its rival India, Pakistan said on Friday.
“France has agreed to transfer civilian nuclear technology to Pakistan ... They have agreed that Pakistan should be treated like India,” Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told reporters after President Zardari’s meeting with Sarkozy, explaining that Pakistan was suffering an “energy crisis” and needed nuclear power to guarantee its electricity supply.
“President Sarkozy said, and I quote him, ‘What can be done for India can be done for Pakistan as well.’ This is a major development,” Qureshi said.
:pakistan:

An official in Sarkozy’s office said France wanted Pakistan to improve its nuclear security but did not comment on the idea of an India-style deal.
“The President (Sarkozy) confirmed that we are prepared ... to cooperate with Pakistan in the area of nuclear safety,” he said.
The Sarkozy’s office said any such deal - while a diplomatic coup for Zardari - would need the agreement of other nuclear powers and the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the IAEA.
Qureshi dismissed concerns about the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal and its proliferation history. Like India, Pakistan has also not signed up to the NPT.
“We will assure the world that we are an important and a responsible nuclear power and we can handle these matters without threatening or endangering anyone,” he said.
“Pakistan has no issues with the IAEA. We are willing to give international guarantees. We want the world to feel secure, and Pakistan will give all necessary guarantees,” Qureshi said when asked about the feasibility of a Pakistani nuclear deal.
“The world recognises the steps Pakistan has taken to assure and protect its nuclear assets. Everyone who matters is confident about our arrangements, the three-layer security system that we have put in place.”
Asked when French shipments might begin, he said: “Today, in principle, the two countries agreed that there is a necessity that has to be fulfilled. In principle they’ve agreed, and now the modalities will be worked out.”
Earlier officials said France and Pakistan have agreed to cooperate in the nuclear field, with Islamabad claiming an important breakthrough in its bid to be seen as a responsible nuclear power.
Following talks between Sarkozy and Zardari, the French leader’s office said he had offered to help Pakistan improve its “nuclear safety” capability.
 
.
i said earlier Pakistan will not allow any deal until we get our own nuclear deal with France. :pakistan:

The Express Tribune
France-India nuclear deal: Pakistan sees serious strategic implications – The Express Tribune



France-India nuclear deal: Pakistan sees serious strategic implications

The Foreign Office spokesperson said there should be criteria for all countries to have access to the civilian nuclear technology.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has expressed concerns over the civilian nuclear deal between France and India, saying the move has ‘serious strategic implications’ for the region.

The Foreign Office spokesperson said there should be criteria for all countries to have access to the civilian nuclear technology.

“Creating exception for India is not only a step backwards in terms of promoting peaceful nuclear cooperation but it also has security implications for the region,” Abdul Basit told The Express Tribune here.

Pakistan believes that the selective approach of Western countries to provide civilian nuclear technology can create imbalance of power in the subcontinent.

“In view of these agreements, Indian military nuclear facilities will have more nuclear fuel and this is certainly a cause for concern to us,” cautioned an official, who is part of the country’s nuclear establishment.

Pakistan has been seeking civilian nuclear technology since long from the powerful countries, including the US.

However, its request hasn’t yet been heeded by the Western nuclear suppliers, as they question Pakistan’s track record.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 7th, 2010.

what are you gonna do..?? put sanctions on France..:rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
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Japan’s nuclear doublespeak

By Shireen M Mazari | Published: October 27, 2010
Non-proliferation has over time become in creasingly discriminatory and a vehicle for the powerful to pressurise states they consider “unreliable”, and the fact that these targeted states happen to be primarily Muslim states, with the sole exception of North Korea, reflects a further bias within the developed world. In fact, the accommodating manner in which the US has treated North Korea’s open defiance of the NPT in contrast to the treatment meted out to Iran which has stayed within its NPT obligations and continuously reiterated its abhorrence of nuclear weapons, only bolsters the perception that Muslim states are being targeted by the US and its allies on multiple fronts, especially post-9/11. The Indo-US nuclear deal, and the repercussions of it within the IAEA and Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG), has brought all these contradictions and dualities out into the open.
However, what has been a rude shock for many has been the growing duplicity of Japan on nuclear-related issues. Post-1945 Japan has ostensibly maintained a strong anti-nuclear posture given how it is the only country to have actually suffered nuclear attacks - courtesy the United States. Yet, over a period of time Japan is moving out of the shadows of its professed anti-militarist position as it develops a vibrant arms industry, partners the US in Missile Defence and maintains one of the largest peaceful nuclear programmes in the world. As if that was not enough to worry neighbours like China and the Koreas, who still recall the bitter legacy of Japanese militarism, Japan has also begun adopting a dual approach on the nuclear issue with an unstinting opposition to Pakistan’s nuclear programme, but the beginnings of an accommodation to the far more extensive Indian nuclear programme. Most recently, this has been reflected in the outcome of the meeting between the Japanese and Indian premiers in Tokyo which not only resulted in a trade pact, but also the promise of Japanese export to India of its state-of-the-art nuclear technology.
India, of course, as a result of its nuclear deal with the US has become a vast market for nuclear exports and countries like France and the UK are casting aside their superfluous non-proliferation concerns in order to gain access to this market - with the US clearing the NSG and IAEA hurdles. For the Japanese, the road is less smooth because there is still a strong anti-nuclear weapons lobby within Japan. Yet the Japanese Premier, Naoto Kan, is undeterred and stated that India and Japan had “agreed to speed up negotiations for civil nuclear energy cooperation while seeking India’s understanding of our country’s sentiment as a nuclear-bombed nation.” So, unlike the demands on Pakistan by the Japanese to sign the NPT and CTBT, no such demand is being made on India - only an apologetic appeal for Indian understanding as to why the Japanese will take a little more time to give India sensitive nuclear technology.


India-Japan nuclear cooperation!
By Khalid Iqbal | Published: July 5, 2010
The US dropped the atomic bomb codenamed "Little Boy" on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945; followed by the detonation of "Fat Man" over Nagasaki after three days. These two events are the only active usages of nuclear weapons in war.
Within the first two to four months of these bombings, the fallout effects killed 90,000 to 166,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000 to 80,000 in Nagasaki, with roughly half of the deaths in each city occurring on the first day.
These horrific effects prompted post-war Japan to adopt most stringent non-proliferation principles. Japan abdicated its right to acquire nuclear weapons, and has been an ardent opponent of nuclear proliferation in all its manifestations.
However, couple of weeks from now, when memorial gatherings would be held for the victims of nuclear bombing, a sea change would have taken place. India-Japan negotiations on nuclear cooperation in the follow up of Agreement 123 would be at an advanced stage. Unfortunately, the most principled nation in the context of nuclear proliferation would be at the verge to bartering its time honoured principles with petty economic gains.
Japan joined the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1976, on the understanding that India and other states would not be accepted in the future as nuclear weapon powers. In the past, Tokyo has been reluctant to pursue a nuclear programme with India. Some policy makers and nuclear disarmament advocates in Japan believe that full nuclear cooperation would amount to rewarding India for possessing nuclear weapons without accruing quid pro quo obligations towards non-proliferation and disarmament. India has neither signed NPT and CTBT, nor has it agreed to end production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons.
Japan is not alone in feeling that the exemptions India has gained through NSG and IAEA gave away too much in return for too little. Brazil, Germany, Norway, South Africa and Turkey however are a few of the major states that are disturbed by it.
Only a small component of the Japanese government comprising the ministries of economy, trade and industry support nuclear trade with India. They argue that Japan should not be more righteous than other countries that are eager to do nuclear business with India. However, proponents of non-proliferation and disarmament argue that Japan should defend the integrity of the non-proliferation regime, even if the US and others wish to betray it.
 
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