By IANS,
Islamabad : France has agreed to provide Pakistan with civilian nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, state-owned PTV reported Friday, quoting Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
According to Qureshi, France has expressed its readiness for cooperating with Pakistan in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
The affirmation came during President Asif Ali Zardari’s discussions with his French counterpart Nicholas Sarkozy.
Further negotiations on this will be held in July this year, Qureshi said.
Zardari, who is on his first visit to France after assuming office, Friday held extensive discussions on a wide range of bilateral issues.
The two leaders reviewed bilateral ties, the regional security scenario with a focus on the situation in Afghanistan and the military operation against the Taliban in parts of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), APP reported.
Zardari briefed Sarkozy about Pakistan’s counter-terrorism operations in the NWFP and the measures being taken for the rehabilitation of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) who were fleeing the fighting.
The French president announced a grant of 12 million euros to help the around one million-odd IDPs who had been forced to leave their homes because of the conflict.