May 30, 2008, 21:52 GMT
Amman - Jordan and France on Friday signed two agreements for cooperation in the peaceful development of nuclear technology and political coordination on regional and international issues, according to an official statement.
The accords were signed by Jordanian Foreign Minister Salah Bashir and his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner, who also held talks on latest developments in the Middle East.
The nuclear cooperation agreement provides for using nuclear reactors for generation of electricity, the extraction of uranium from phosphate mines in Jordan, the training of Jordanian manpower and arrangements for nuclear safety, Chairman of the Jordanian Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) Khalid Touqan said.
Under the second agreement, Jordan and France set up 'a political group that seeks to boost coordination on regional and international issues and forge a long term strategic relationship between the two countries,' the statement said.
Bashir expressed his country's support for French President Nicolas Sarkozy's Med Union scheme and said Jordan 'looked forward to the Paris summit in July when the plan will be officially launched'.
Bashir and Kouchner stressed the need for extending support to the Israelis and Palestinians in their ongoing negotiations with a view to achieving 'tangible progress before the end of the year in the run-up for ending the Israeli occupation(of Palestinian lands) and setting up a viable and independent Palestinian state', the statement said.
The two ministers also discussed the outcome of the Lebanese national dialogue which was launched in Qatar earlier this month and called for 'boosting Lebanon's national unity and the continued implementation of the provisions of the Doha agreement'.
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