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"The French government is extremely confident
that the green light will be given (for Jaitapur).
We are absolutely sure that what is going to be
developed with India is going to be at the highest
levels of nuclear safety," said Bonnafont,
who will be leaving this month-end to take up
a new assignment in the Nicolas Sarkozy government.
The nuclear technology that France offered for
the plant in India's western state of Maharashtra
was the best in terms of safety, Bonnafont said.
"The best progress in European Pressurised
Reactors (EPR) is in the area of safety. We are
in the process of review of all our nuclear plants
with the safety authority to guarantee that they
are Fukushima-proof, if I may say, and that process
is on," he said, referring to the Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear disaster after the Japan earthquake
this year.
Bonnafont, who took over his diplomatic responsibilities
in 2007, was given a warm farewell at the French
embassy here Sep 23 in which the diplomatic community
of the capital came together to bid him goodbye.
"It has been a privilege to be living in
India for four years. I will continue to be a
friend of India even when I work in Paris,"
he told the large gathering, which included Petroleum
and Natural Gas Minister S. Jaipal Reddy and Communist
Party of India-Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury.
France was also confident that its defence manufacturer
Dassault will be successful in bagging the $10-plus
billion order for 126 combat jets, Bonnafont said.
"France and India are linked by a strategic
partnership. It is the conviction of France that
having stronger ties with India, in particular
in the field of defence, is good for peace,"
he said.
"We are fully confident that the decision
in this (jets) project is done in a spirit of
transparency, so there is a level playing field
for everyone. We are completely confident that
India will take the decision following all procedures,"
he added.
(IANS)
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