By Manish Chand, IANS,
Washington : Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday invited French President Nicolas Sarkozy to visit India, likely in the last quarter of this year. The two leaders also discussed their plan to develop multi-faceted civil nuclear cooperation and expand counter-terror cooperation in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.
The two leaders met on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit at Walter E. Washington Convention Centre and held wide-ranging talks for around 50 minutes.
They discussed their plan to develop multi-faceted civil nuclear cooperation in diverse areas, including power projects, fuel supply, nuclear safety and training, India’s external affairs ministry spokesperson Vishnu Prakash told journalists after the talks.
The two leaders expressed satisfaction at the manner in which the two sides are operationalising the nuclear deal which they inked in September 2008, making Paris the first country to sign a bilateral civil nuclear pact within weeks of waiver by the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
Manmohan Singh invited Sarokozy to visit India along with First Lady Carla Bruni, the spokesperson said. The visit is likely to take place in the last quarter of this year.
Sarkozy, who last visited India as the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations in 2008, reiterated France’s support for India’s bid for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, Prakash said.
India should get its rightful place in the comity of nations, Sarkozy told Manmohan Singh.
The two leaders also discussed the volatile situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and agreed to beef up international efforts to stabilise the region.
They also discussed the upcoming G20 summit Canada will be hosting in June and stressed the need for making the forum relevant in the period of post-meltdown recovery.