Saturday, February 18 2006 12:46 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: French President Jacques Chirac will arrive here tomorrow (Feb 19,2006) on a three-day visit during which the two countries will sign a Declaration on peaceful nuclear energy, a defence agreement and some other pacts.

Undertaking his second visit as President here since 1998, Chirac will be accompanied by his wife and a high-powered delegation, including five Ministers and CEOs of 30 top French companies.

The visit follows the one by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Paris in September last.

Chirac will hold extensive discussions with Singh covering a broad range of issues. President A P J Abdul Kalam will host a banquet for Chirac who will also meet Chairperson of National Advisory Council Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition L K Advani.

During the visit, the two sides will sign a Declaration on development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, an agreement on defence cooperation and an MoU on Tourism.

The two sides will ink a contract for jointly building a satellite for Eutelsat and MoUs on cooperation between IIM-Ahmedabad and ESSEC (Ecole Superieure des SciencesEconomiques et Commerciales).

An MoU will also be signed between BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency) and Ministry of Power and AEDEME (Agence de l' Environnement et de la Maitrise de l'Energie) is also expected to be signed.

A formal agreement to acquire 43 aircraft from Airbus Industries for Indian Airlines is also likely to be signed.

The two countries have a strategic partnership that was initiated in January 1998 during Chirac's visit here.