Marseilles (France), Sept 29: The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, has said that he is looking forward to his meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris on Tuesday.

Briefing reporters ahead of his arrival in Marseilles, where he will address the Ninth India-EU Summit, Dr. Singh said: "We have already initialed the framework agreement in civil nuclear matters. It will certainly come up for review and possible signature during my visit."

Dr. Singh and Sarkozy will seek to consolidate bilateral ties in the areas of trade and investment, defence, space and high technology among other issues.

Sarkozy has said the prospects of cooperation between France and India in the civil nuclear area is very promising considering his country's expertise, long tradition of cooperation with New Delhi and an atmosphere of trust.

India and France had initialed the Framework Agreement for Civil Nuclear Cooperation in January but could not sign it pending a waiver from the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

Sarkozy is already on record as saying that the India-International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safeguards Agreement and the NSG waiver for India are ‘historic landmarks”. (ANI)