India, France agree on civilian nuclear cooperation

feb 22nd

whether or not the french are more honest is debatable.

but having a second supplier is very good for india's buyer power.


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: s
Date: Feb 20, 2006 11:40 PM
Subject: India, France agree on civilian nuclear cooperation
To: Rajeev Srinivasan <rajeev.srinivasan@gmail.com >

Hi Rajeev,   What do you think of this agreement? On a quick glance it looks much more honest than the one signed by the yanks, particularly this one does not say anything about bringing the existing facilities under IAEA inspection. Of course any day they can go back, that is another matter. What's your take?   http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?id=356798   India, France agree on civilian nuclear cooperation

NEW DELHI, FEB 20 (PTI) Inking a declaration on civilian nuclear cooperation, India and France today outlined the parameters of an intended agreement with both sides committing that the cooperation in the field would be subject to "appropriate safeguards" agreements with the IAEA. In the Declaration on Development of Nuclear Energy for Peaceful Purposes, the two sides said that they looked forward to "adjustment of international civil nuclear cooperation framework" with respect to India and pledged to work to that end so that the agreement can be implemented fully. Expressing willingness to expand and strengthen their bilateral dialogue on peaceful uses of nuclear energy, the two sides said they would engage in discussions to conclude the agreement subject to their "respective international commitments and obligations". The Declaration was signed by Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar and French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy in presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and French President Jacques Chirac after their talks here. "France and India will ensure that cooperation pursuant to the future agreement shall be exclusively for peaceful purposes and covered where applicable by appropriate safeguards with the IAEA," it said. "The cooperation agreement, and, as appropriate, subsequent specific agreements, will also address issues relating to inter alia confidentiality of information, third party nuclear liability, intellectual property, measures relating to physical protection and retransfers to third states," it said. The Declaration specified that the future agreement may cover various aspects, including that basic and applied research not requiring the supply of uranium enriched to 20 per cent or greater in the isotope U235. The intended agreement may also cover development and use of nuclear energy applications in the fields of agronomy, biology, earth sciences and medicines, and in industry, application of nuclear energy to power generation, including setting up of power projects, nuclear fuel management, nuclear waste management, nuclear safety, radio-protection and environmental protection, prevention of and response to, emergency situations resulting from radioactive or nuclear accidents, it said. Public awareness and acceptance of the benefits of the use of nuclear energy exclusively for peaceful purposes and in any other field as jointly agreed by the parties to that agreement could also be covered under the pact. In the declaration, the two sides noted that cooperation under the future agreement may take the following forms: exchange and training of scientific and technical staff; exchange of scientific and technical information; participation by scientific and technical staff of one party in research and development activities conducted by the other party. The agreement may also involve joint conduct of research and engineering activities, including joint research and experimentation; organisation of scientific and technical conferences and symposiums; provision of material, nuclear material, equipment, technology, facilities and services; consultations and cooperation in relevant international fora; and any other form of cooperation jointly agreed to by the parties to that agreement. The declaration said the agreements already signed between the institutions concerned of both the countries such as CEA and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE); the Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire (IRSN) and the Bhabha Atomic Research Center; DGSNR and AERB in the field of atomic energy will become a part of this framework agreement and will continue to be implemented as at present.