India-France delegation-level talks begin
After a tour of Taj Mahal with wife Carla Bruni and dinner diplomacy at the residence of the Prime Minister, it is time for business for French President Nicolas Sarkozy as the two sides have begun their delegation level talks at the Hyderabad House here on Monday morning.
Later in the day, an agreement will be signed with French company Areva as the giant European nuclear reactor builder is likely to sell two reactors to India.
There are hard negotiation down to the wire, reports said, since India’s tough nuclear liability laws are a roadblock.
The nuclear liability law passed in Parliament this year under Opposition pressure had put huge liability on both suppliers and operators of any new nuclear plant.
The law was enacted in the wake of the Bhopal gas leak judgement and a renewed clamour for industrial and nuclear safety and compensation for the victims in the event of accidents.
The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) is also likely to ink agreements on civil nuclear cooperation with the French Atomic agency.
The two nations are also signing agreements on joint film productions, reports said.
On Sunday night Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni attended a dinner hosted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his residence.
The Prime Minister and the French President had a 30 minute meeting before the dinner.
The dinner was also graced by Congress president Sonia Gandhi besides leaders like Pranab Mukherjee and SM Krishna.
Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, Speaker Meira Kumar, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and the National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon were also present, according to reports.
Sunday was the second day of the President?s four-day India visit that began with his support for India?s bid for a permanent UNSC seat.
Sarkozy and his fashionable wife Carla Bruni, a former model, visited the Taj Mahal in Agra on Saturday evening.
Bruni was impatient to see the Taj Mahal as she said she was looking forward to an Agra visit. The couple also visited Fatepur Sikri, built by Mughal Emperor Akbar and prayed for a son there at the dargah of Salim Chisti.
Sarkozy?s India agenda features signing of nuclear deal and extending cooperation in the field of space and civil nuclear energy.