France to help nuclear rebirth in Italy

Cooperation on nuclear sector dominated the meeting between Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace, when the two leaders presided the signing of 20 agreements, letter of intents and joint declarations.

The Electricite de France (EDF), the state-owned nuclear energy giant of France, and Italy's biggest power company ENEL inked their agreement of a minimum duration of five year.

The agreement laid out the plan to construct at least four nuclear reactors in Italy, the two leaders confirmed at a joint news conference.

Though they didn't detail the locations of the reactors or the timetable of the construction, they said the agreement was "a concrete first step towards maximizing the involvement of the Italian industry in the construction of the nuclear power plants."

The two sides also sign several documents on personnel training and technology share related to nuclear development, and on cooperation in radioprotection; Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.news.xinhuanet.com for full version.