India set to sign nuclear pact with France ahead of a US deal
29 Sep 2008
Mumbai: India and France are set to sign a landmark civil nuclear deal along the lines of the 123 agreement which is awaiting a vote in the US Senate – the first such agreement to be initialled by any country with New Delhi.
France has given clear indications that the agreement will be signed during prime minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Paris tomorrow for talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
India and France had agreed on the Framework Agreement for Civil Nuclear Cooperation in January but could not sign it pending a waiver from the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group. Now that the NSG has given its nod, the two countries are free to sign the agreement.
The framework agreement was inked during Sarkozy's visit to India in January this year.
The signing of the agreement will signal an end to its 34-year-old nuclear apartheid.
