Manmohan Singh leaves for Paris

New York, Sept 27 : Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has left for France tonight on the second leg of his visit, after the completion of his US visit.

He will attend the ninth India-European Union summit at the port city of Marseilles.

Besides seeking to strengthen India - European Union economic cooperation, Dr Singh will also call for strengthening the counter-terrorism mechanism.

In Paris, he will have a bilateral meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy to consolidate ties in the areas of trade and investment, defence, space, civil nuclear cooperation and high technology.

Both countries are working towards an agreement on nuclear cooperation and are likely to sign pacts on civil aviation and social security.

Addressing the UN General Assembly, Dr. Singh called upon world leaders for a joint action to deal with the menace of terrorism which is threatening world peace and stability.

He said that the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) waiver for India is a vindication of its impeccable record on non-proliferation front.

Dr. Singh also held a series of meetings with several world leaders on the side lines of the United Nations General Assembly.

The high point of his engagements was his meeting with US President where Bush conveyed to Dr. Singh that the US Congress is close to giving its final nod to the Indo-US civil nuclear agreement.

The US House of Representatives is likely to vote on the Indo-US civil nuclear deal later tonight as the debate on the bill was wrapped up in 40 minutes.

The US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has lent strong support to the Indo-US civil nuclear deal.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee is leaving for the United States tonight in this regard.

ANI