As India prepares to hold talks with the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), its key member France on Monday said it would help in generating consensus for the Indo-US nuclear deal.
But France ruled out providing uranium till "green signal" from the 45-nation group.
French Ambassador in New Delhi Dominique Girard said his country was looking forward to industrial cooperation in nuclear field with India in the backdrop of a Joint Statement issued by the two countries recently during the visit of President Jacques Chirac.
"This (Indo-US nuclear agreement) is an excellent deal. We are quite happy with it," he told a select group of reporters here during his visit to witness start of week-long Indo-French Naval exercises 'Varuna II' off the Goa coast.
On the requirement for NSG's endorsement of the deal, the envoy said, "We will help in that (building of consensus) as much as we can."
Supporting India's quest for civilian nuclear energy to meet its growing needs, he hailed its track record.
"We feel India should have better access to civilian nuclear technology and materials because of its behaviour, because of its non-proliferation record and because it is a democracy," he said.
{{/usCountry}}"We feel India should have better access to civilian nuclear technology and materials because of its behaviour, because of its non-proliferation record and because it is a democracy," he said.
{{/usCountry}}Consensus within NSG and its endorsement of the Indo-US deal is a key requisite for allowing international community to resume trade in nuclear field with India.
Under the deal, the US is responsible for building consensus for the deal in the NSG. Russia and Britain will also be helping in this process.