French Parliamentarian team in India for talks

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, Sept 22: A delegation of three Members of Parliament from the External Affairs, Defence and Armed Forces Committee is on a four-day visit to India for high-level interactions.

The delegation comprises of Mr. Josselin de Rohan, President of the Committee, Mr. Jean-Pierre Chevènement and Mr. Didier Boulaud, Vice-Presidents of the Committee, and will be in India till September 26.

During the visit, they are scheduled to meet Vice President Hamid Ansari, Chairman of the Defence Parliamentary Committee Satpal Maharaj, Minister of State for Defence Pallam Raju, Ministers of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur and Shashi Tharoor.

Tehran closer to making atom bomb: US

VIENNA, Sept 9: The US said on Wednesday Iran was nearing the ability to make atom bombs by stockpiling enriched uranium and, with EU allies, prodded Tehran to engage in talks now on its nuclear ambitions.

Western powers have been considering harsher sanctions against Tehran. "We have serious concerns that Iran is deliberately attempting, at a minimum, to preserve a nuclear weapons option", American envoy Glyn Davies told the 35 nations on the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors.

"Iran is now either very near or in possession already of sufficient low-enriched uranium to produce one nuclear weapon... (This) moves Iran closer to a dangerous and destabilizing possible breakout capacity," Davies said.

IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei has said Iran's threat has been exaggerated. But Davies' remark pointed to growing western disquiet about Iran's nuclear advances.

Doctors allay concern over Sarkozy health

PARIS, July 27: Doctors have given French President Nicolas Sarkozy a clean bill of health. He was discharged from hospital before midday, after undergoing a battery of neurological, cardiological and other tests.

He was flown there on Sunday, after suffering a dizzy spell while jogging at Versailles.

According to a statement from the President’s office, doctors blame Sarkozy’s faintness on the strenuousness of the jog, the heat and fatigue from his workload.

While there will be no further medical treatment, the President has been ordered to take a few days off.

A trip to Mont Saint Michel on Tuesday has been postponed.

But he is still expected to chair a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, before going on holidays.

The news of the President’s collapse made the front pages in the French papers, which often mock his frantic schedule and love of sport.

Friends and party members have been urging him to slow down.

But analysts say Sarkozy is unlikely to change his lifestyle.

An avid jogger and keen cyclist, the results of a health check earlier in July were said to be normal.

And given that there has apparently been no lasting harm from this incident, he will probably keep up the punishing pace.

Sarkozy falls ill

PARIS, July 26: France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy, 54, was taken to hospital on Sunday after he fell ill while exercising, according to his office. He was seen immediately by a doctor and underwent medical tests.

France eager on ‘full’ civilian nuclear relationship with India

NEW DELHI, July 17: Prime Minister Mamohan Singh on Friday told the Rajya Sabha that he had raised the issue of India being provided with enrichment and reprocessing (ENR) technologies, with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who was “emphatic” about France’s eagerness to enter into a “full” civilian nuclear relationship with India.

Dr. Singh was responding to questions by Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M) who wanted to know whether the recent G8 resolution to withhold ENR technologies from countries that had not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, had confirmed the Left’s fears and ran against Dr. Singh’s assurance of full cooperation under the Indo-U.S. civil nuclear agreement.

Back from visits to France and Egypt, Dr. Singh pointed out that Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had clarified the issue in Parliament and assured that he would address it at a later date.

G8 restrictions on transferring ENR technologies, Mr. Mukherjee had confirmed the G8 restrictions on transferring ENR technologies but maintained that India was “not deeply concerned” about the stand.

What mattered were the clean waivers from the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers’ Group and the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency, of which the G8 countries were members, he had said.

Any move to restrict supply of ENR technologies would throw a spanner in India’s three-stage civil nuclear programme. India wants the right to reprocess spent nuclear fuel to run the second stage of its fast-breeder programme, which could lead on to the third stage, where the country’s abundant thorium could replace uranium as fuel.

India has 30 per cent of the world’s thorium reserves and only one per cent of the natural uranium reserves.

But some countries fear that plutonium, which is extracted from reprocessing, could be diverted to make nuclear weapons besides fuelling fast-breeder reactors.

France backs India's bid for permanent UNSC seat

NEW DELHI, July 9: Strongly backing India's bid for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, France on Thursday said this was absolutely necessary if the global body wanted to remain a "legitimate" place for handling peace and security crisis.

Noting that the last reforms to the Security Council were made in the sixties, Ambassador of France to India Jerome Bonnafont said "if we want the Security Council to remain a legitimate place for handling peace and security crisis in the world, it is absolutely necessary to have India as well as couple of others as permanent members."

He said the reform was also imperative "in order to avoid unilateralism and to create an environment where countries sit together to address the threats to peace".

However, the French Ambassador in New Delhi said it was a very difficult reform which needs two-third majority of the UN Assembly besides the five permanent members and "there is a group of countries" who do not want this reform but France was determined to push for it.

India has been making a strong pitch for UNSC reforms and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, currently attending the G-8 Summit in Rome, maintain that "the UNSC has not changed at all and its present structure poses serious problems of legitimacy."

"The system of two-tiered membership, which gives a veto to the five permanent members i.e. the nations that emerged victorious after the Second World War, is clearly anachronistic," Dr Singh said in an article in the compendium on contemporary global issues brought out for the Summit.

Bonnafont also talked about the need for significant reforms of international financial institutions to address global problems and participation of emerging countries including India.

Maintaining that India and France share a very special relationship, the Ambassador said that French President Nicolas Sarkozy was the Chief Guest at the Indian Republic Day function, while Singh will be the Chief Guest at the French National Day Parade on 14th July and this goes to show the nature of the bilateral ties.

A contingent of Indian troops will also participate in the parade to mark the French National Day.

The Ambassador also identified combating terrorism, the civil nuclear sector and climate change as key areas to strengthen relations with India, saying these fields provide for mutual beneficial results.

He said France was also in consultation with Indian government on tariff fixation issue for the French civil-nuclear plants.

On the issue of climate change, he said the problem was not with "India and China, it is the US......it is to get the US on track".

The ambassador added that Europe has already made a commitment to reduce its emissions by 20 percent on 1990 as base limit, something which no other country has done so far.

However, he advocated that India should balance between the economic growth and ecological responsibility.

Talking about the bilateral relations, Bonnafont said besides having good operational cooperation between India and France, the latter was also providing assistance to increase the defence capabilities, which included production of six conventional submarines by India.

He said both Sarkozy and Singh have agreed to take steps to further strengthen the bilateral ties and this includes doubling of trade from six billion Euros to 12 billion Euros in next three years.

He said France was also making efforts to triple the number of Indian students in that country by facilitating visas and providing ways to work during and after the studies there.

He said France would also like to strengthen bilateral ties in the area of agriculture and infrastructure.

France, India discuss security and terrorism

NEW DELHI, June 17: France and India discussed issues related to terrorism and security as French Ambassador Jerome Bonnafont met Union Home Minister P Chidambaram in New Delhi on Wednesday.

"Issues concerning both the countries were discussed. We have joined hands against terrorism and that is a very important area of cooperation," French Ambassador to India, Jerome Bonnafont, told after meeting Chidambaram at his North Block office.

"We have cooperation in this (terrorism and security related issue) respect, which we are moving forward," he said, when asked about the issues and topics that arose during their 15-minute meeting.

Bonnafont described the meeting as a "very good" one.

Carla to sing on Mandela's birthday

LONDON, June 17: French first lady Carla Bruni will lend her voice at the upcoming Nelson Mandela Day tribute in New York.

Bruni will sing a duet with pop star Dave Stwart, who is the man behind the first Mandela Day concert in South Africa, reports contactmusic.com

Celebrities like Aretha Franklin, Queen Latifah, Cyndi Lauper, Jesse McCartney, Josh Groban and Wyclef Jean will also appear at the former South African president's birthday tribute - to be held July 18 at Madison Square Garden.

Dalai Lama hits out at China 'death sentence' on Tibet

PARIS, June 8: The Dalai Lama said on Saturday that China has imposed a "death sentence" on Tibet as he arrived in Paris for a visit that China has strongly opposed.

The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader is to be named an honorary citizen of the French capital despite warnings from the Chinese government that his arrival will harm relations with France.

On his arrival in Paris, the Dalai Lama criticised China about events in Tibet since protests were staged last year.

"Since March 2008 I have the feeling that a very old nation and its heritage and culture have received a death sentence," he told reporters at Paris airport.

"The Chinese government makes a hard line policy, but the Chinese people are ignorant of the situation. The international community must go there to investigate, without restrictions," he added.

The Dalai Lama, 73, is to be made an honorary citizen of Paris on Sunday.

He is also to meet pro-Tibetan French lawmakers, members of the Chinese and Tibetan community in France and address a gathering at a Paris sports stadium.

Officials have said it is a coincidence that the Dalai Lama is in France at the same time as US President Barack Obama and that there are no plans for the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader to meet top political representatives.

Sarkozy, Wen send their wishes to Indian PM

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, May 22: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have congratulated Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on his second term in office.

President Sarkozy invited Prime Minister Singh to be the chief guest on the occasion of French National Day on July 14.

In his congratulatory message, Premier Wen said: "I wish to extend, on behalf of the Chinese people and in my own name, to Your Excellency warm congratulations and best wishes."

He said that India-China strategic and cooperative partnership had achieved "all-around rapid progress and reached unprecedented heights" over the last five years, and he appreciated Prime Minister Singh’s contributions to the growth of bilateral relations.

"The Chinese Government attaches great importance to the China-India relations. I am ready to work closely with Your Excellency to push forward the long-term stable development of China-India Strategic and Cooperative Partnership for Peace and Prosperity," Mr Wen added.

Through the elections which were recently concluded and which constitute a remarkable testimony to their attachment to democracy, President Sarkozy said “the Indian people have chosen to repose once again their trust in the representatives of the Congress Party and the alliance that it leads. In this I discern a deep tribute to the action that you have undertaken at the helm of the Government of India since 2004.”

President Sarkozy, in turn, said: "I am delighted to be able to pursue and intensify with you the strategic partnership that our two countries maintain today. You know that I have chosen to make India a privileged partner of France and, in future, I intend to enhance this major orientation of the foreign policy I have defined."

Pakistan must cooperate fully with Mumbai probe, says France

NEW DELHI, Jan 17: Declaring itself in “total solidarity” with India over the November 26-29 Mumbai terrorist attacks, France has called on Pakistan to cooperate fully with the Indian side to ensure those responsible for the crime are punished.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday at the end of his visit for the 20th Indo-French Strategic Dialogue, Jean-David Levitte, Diplomatic Adviser of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said that Paris had heard President Asif Ali Zardari’s words promising cooperation with India.

But it was now up to “all agencies of the Pakistani state” to implement those commitments, he stressed.

Asked whether he agreed with the Indian government’s claim that some official agencies in Pakistan must have been involved in the Mumbai incident, Mr. Levitte said he had been through the dossier India had prepared and handed over to France. “To my knowledge, the dossier doesn’t say that any official agency of Pakistan was involved.”

He added that he wished to complement and pay tribute to those Indian officials who had assembled the dossier. “As far as the Government of France is concerned, it is totally credible. This is also the judgment of our intelligence agencies,” he said. “What we want from Pakistan is full cooperation. Total cooperation… This is the least that we as a democracy and a friend of India can ask.”

France was also calling on India to show “restraint” and resume the composite dialogue process with Pakistan “at the appropriate moment,” Mr. Levitte said. Countries cannot choose their neighbours, he added, “so we encouraged the resumption of dialogue, especially since this process had made considerable progress in recent years.”

But for that to happen, he stressed, “there is need for full cooperation by Pakistan and punishment by law of those who have done [the Mumbai terrorist attacks].”

Levitte refused to get drawn in to the question of where the men should be tried. “It is not for me to tell you whether they should be extradited or not,” he said. “What we say is that justice must be delivered. And that those who planned this act must be punished by law.”

Levitte said he had had very constructive discussions with both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his counterpart, National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan.

Apart from Mumbai and the question of Pakistan, the two sides touched on the Indo-French defence partnership, civil nuclear cooperation and key global issues like the financial crisis, climate change and the conflict in West Asia.

He hailed the recent agreement Areva had struck with NPCIL for the supply of 30 tonnes of uranium and said France looked forward to the formal commencement of work on the construction of nuclear power plants in India.

On France’s bid to supply the Rafale for the IAF’s forthcoming order for 126 multi-role combat aircraft, Mr. Levitte said Paris was participating in the competition alongside rivals from the United States, Russia and Europe. “We have to accept the rules of the competition,” he said, adding, “provided these are the same for everybody.”