France signs agreement with Libya on nuclear reactor

TRIPOLI (AFP) - France and Libya yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding on the construction of a Libyan nuclear reactor for water desalination, a senior French official announced.

The announcement came shortly after Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel Rahman Shalgham said the two countries were to sign a military-industrial accord and an agreement on civilian nuclear energy.

The deal came as French President Nicolas Sarkozy flew in for talks with Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, a day after Tripoli's release of six foreign medics in a move that cleared the way for trade deals with the oil-rich state.

Sarkozy touted his visit of less than 24 hours as a "political trip" to help Libya's reintegration into the international community after decades of sanctions and isolation.

It comes after French efforts contributed to the release on Tuesday of the medics, held in Libya since 1999 and whose death sentence for infecting children with the AIDS virus was commuted.