NEW DELHI: France Monday signed a $9.3-billion framework agreement to sell two nuclear reactors to India during a trade-centered visit by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to New Delhi. India inked the deal with France's state-run nuclear group Areva for the purchase of two reactors for a new plant in Jaitapur in the western state of Maharashtra. “Negotiations (with Areva) have reached an advanced stage to pave the way for the launching of nuclear power reactors in Jaitapur in partnership with Indian industry,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told a joint press conference. The deal is short of a final sale contract, but it means Areva has moved ahead of US and Japanese competitors in the race to sell reactors to India, which aims to tap atomic power for a quarter of its electricity demands by 2050. Russia is already constructing two nuclear power units in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Deals totalling €15 billion ($20 billion) have been signed or are about to be signed with Indian companies, Sarkozy's office said, including a leasing agreement for 14 Airbus planes and the modernization of 51 French-made Mirage fighter jets. The French leader is on a four-day trip to India, where he is seeking deeper trade ties while seeking to build a partnership with a democratic country seen as a counterbalance in Asia to China. British Prime Minister David Cameron and US President Barack Obama have both swept through India with similar messages recently, as Western nations look for export opportunities in a fast-growing country seen as a natural ally. – Agence France
