By IANS
New Delhi : French President Nicolas Sarkozy came to India with the right message to warm the heart of his hosts – backing India’s nuclear energy needs, supporting its bid for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council and calling for expansion of the elite G-8 group “to G-13” with India as a member.
Accompanied by a 300-strong delegation, Sarkozy arrived here Friday morning on a two-day state visit that had been preceded by frenzied speculation on whether his current partner, model Carla Bruni, will accompany him. Sarkozy came alone, much to the relief of Indian protocol officials.
The French president carried a forceful message on the need for the world to open up nuclear trade with India and made a strong case for inclusion of India in elite power groupings like the G-8 and United Nations Security Council.
His visit began with one-on-one talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, followed by discussions between the two sides at Hyderabad House.
Both later addressed the press inside a specially-erected tent pavilion on the lawns of Hyderabad House, releasing a Joint Statement, as well as a Joint Declaration on Global warming.
The two leaders witnessed the signing of five agreements, related to defence, nuclear research, consular, development cooperation and neurosciences.
Stating that there was a “lot of convergence on international issues”, Sarkozy said: “We will put some concrete in our strategic will”. He also asserted that Indo-French strategic partnership would get “fresh impetus” from the visit.
“We know that India’s energy needs are huge. If we don’t allow civilian nuclear energy, then they will go to more polluting sources,” said Sarkozy.
“France can be an advocate for nuclear energy cooperation with India,” he said, adding, “India has never contributed to proliferation”.
He added that negotiators have concluded a bilateral agreement for co-operation in the civil nuclear field. It could not be inked during the current visit as India still has to sign a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and get a waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)
France has been a strong supporter of the India-US nuclear deal, lobbying for an “international consensus” at the NSG to remove restriction on trade in nuclear fuel and technology with India.
With nuclear energy accounting for 75 percent of French power generation, France is one of the leading contenders to bag multi-million dollar contracts for new nuclear reactors in India, once the doors are thrown open.
But, that day is still some way off, with India still not able to conclude negotiations with IAEA over a safeguards agreement. Even if the text is finalised, the Indian government will have to get a green light from its Left allies to initial the document.
The safeguards agreement is a crucial qualification for the Nuclear Suppliers Group to consider a waiver of restrictions on India and the United States Congress to approve a bilateral document to operationalise cooperation in the field of civilian nuclear energy.
According to Sarkozy, once an international waiver was obtained and the domestic debate in India on the issue — “on which I obviously don’t want to comment” — had blown over, France could come into the picture.
While stating that “international negotiations take some time”, Singh said that talks with IAEA had moved forward and hoped that they could be “successfully concluded without loss of further time”.
Singh also talked about going “beyond the buyer seller relationship” in defence cooperation, with more focus on joint projects and transfer of technology. Counter-terrorism was another important area of talks, with Sarkozy pointing out that France had a stake in India’s volatile neighbourhood with troops stationed in Afghanistan.
Sarkozy set a target for bilateral trade to nearly triple to 12 billion euros in 2012, with a pledge that French companies will invest 10 billion euros in the next four years.
After attending a lunch hosted by Singh, he returned to Hotel Oberoi, where he is staying. The French president had a series of meetings with Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari, Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani and Congress party president Sonia Gandhi.
In the evening, Sarkozy addressed an India-France business conference, where he charmed the captains of business with an impassioned, extempore speech.
“Why should the G-8 be a meeting of just eight countries, with China, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa and India be invited only for lunch on the final day… France does not accept this. It is a matter of right for India to be part of an expanded G-13 or G-14. How can you deal with the major problems of the world without India?” Sarkozy maintained.
“We need India to resolve the major crises of the world and not only regional crises,” he added.
His last engagement was a state banquet hosted by President Pratibha Patil at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
On Friday, he began his official engagements with a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan forecourt, followed by a drive to Raj Ghat to lay a wreath at the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi.
On Saturday morning, he will be the guest of honour at the Republic Day parade and then fly to Agra to see the Taj Mahal.
Sarkozy returns to Delhi to attend the Republic Day tea hosted by the president at Rashtrapati Bhawan. Thereafter, he is likely to meet with the French community in Delhi and have some private engagements, which have not been officially announced.
Sarkozy departs for Paris by a special flight at night