French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde held talks Sunday with Kuwaiti officials over the Gulf state's plan to set up a civilian nuclear project to produce power. Lagarde told a press conference that during meetings with Kuwait's emir, crown prince and the prime minister, they proposed to "pursue, deepen and accelerate" co-operation on the nuclear project.
She said that during the talks she discussed the "setting up of a civil nuclear reactor". Representatives of state-owned French firm Areva will hold talks "within a few days" with Kuwaiti authorities to discuss the nuclear project, Lagarde said without providing further details. Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah said in comments in February that the nuclear project aims to produce electricity in a bid to save large quantities of fuel being consumed by power and water desalination plants.
France is pursing similar projects with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which along with Kuwait are members of the six-nation Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC). The GCC is planning a joint nuclear technology programme for peaceful use under international rules. The GCC's interest in developing atomic energy comes amid a continuing stand-off between the West and Iran over its programme of uranium enrichment.