BackSarkozy pushes defence, nuke cooperation in India
Sarkozy pushes defence, nuke cooperation in India
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Bangalore: President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived on Saturday on a four-day visit to India, seeking to drum up business for French firms, with a deal expected on building nuclear plants to feed the South Asian nation’s burgeoning energy needs.
On his first stop, Sarkozy will visit the Indian Space Research Organization in the Bangalore, where a joint project with France is developing a satellite to monitor climate change and ocean conditions.
The French leader will hold talks Monday with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi, after a private visit Sunday with First Lady Carla Bruni to the Taj Mahal in Agra.
His trip comes amid a rash of visits by world leaders to India. President Barak Obama visited last month and the leaders of Russia and China are due by year’s end.
Sarkozy is accompanied by his defence, foreign and finance ministers and nearly 60 CEOs of French companies. Although no defence agreements are expected during the visit, he is expected to push for French firms to win contracts to supply military hardware.
French companies are negotiating to upgrade 51 Mirage-2000 jet fighters of the Indian Air Force. India is also in the market to buy 126 fighter jets, a deal worth $11 billion, and nearly 200 helicopters worth another $4 billion.
According to defence experts, New Delhi is expected to spend $80 billion between 2012 and 2022 to upgrade its military.
France is also hoping to benefit from India’s decision to build nearly 20 nuclear power plants.
France is well-placed to cash in, as it has steadily supported India’s nuclear programme and resisted sanctions imposed by many developed nations when India tested a nuclear weapons in 1998.
French nuclear power company, Areva SA, emerged as the front-runner to set up two of six power plants in Maharashtra. Last week, the site for the plants received environmental clearance a major hurdle for any infrastructure project in India.
An agreement between Areva and Nuclear Power Corporation of India is likely to be signed during Sarkozy’s visit, said T.P. Seetharam, a senior official of the ministry of external affairs.
Sarkozy’s office in Paris said talks with Singh will also focus on France’s plans for reforming the Group of 20 leading economies.
France takes over the rotating presidency of the G-20 this month and seeks support from India for its proposals to limit excessive currency volatility, control swings in commodity prices and reform global fiscal governance.
After Monday’s talks with Singh in the capital, Sarkozy will address business leaders in Mumbai on boosting bilateral trade and investment and joint ventures.
Bilateral trade declined in 2009 due to global economic woes, but was on the upswing this year, said Vishnu Prakash, spokesman for the ministry of external affairs. The two countries have set a trade target of €12 billion ($15.8 billion) for 2012, he said.
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