NEW DELHI: India and France are close to an signing a nuclear energy pact similar to a deal New Delhi has already struck with Washington, India’s top diplomat said yesterday.
The accord is expected to be signed during Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to France on Sept. 30, Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon said. “We are working on signing the agreement,” Menon told reporters.
The text of the accord with France was finalized during French President Nicholas Sarkozy’s visit to New Delhi in January.
New Delhi’s plans to enter the loop of global atomic commerce received a boost on Sept. 6 when the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), which controls the trade, amended its rules to allow India to buy equipment and fuel.
Meanwhile, a senior US senator Thursday called for a fast track endorsement this month of a landmark nuclear agreement with India as lawmakers launched a series of meetings to consider the controversial deal.
“We would be well advised to approve it this month ... rather than waiting until next year,” said Democrat Chris Dodd, who chaired a meeting Thursday of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the nuclear initiative.
