The passage of India’s Shanti Bill has propelled Indo-French civil nuclear cooperation into a “new phase”, with both countries entering active discussions on fresh opportunities, including small and advanced modular reactors, Indian and French diplomatic sources said here on Thursday ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to France for the G7 Summit.French diplomatic sources described the legislation as “very good news” and said it had injected renewed momentum into the strategic partnership.“Since the law was passed, we have entered into very active discussions. On nuclear energy, we are at the beginning of a new phase of discussions,” a top French diplomat said.Echoing the assessment, Additional Secretary (Europe West) Piyush Srivastava said the two sides were exploring new opportunities opened up by the legislation, particularly involving the private sector.“Both sides are discussing more opportunities at the private sector front also, including through small modular reactors (SMRs) and advanced modular reactors (AMRs),” he said during a special briefing on Modi’s June 14-18 visit to France and Slovakia.Civil nuclear cooperation is among the key pillars of the India-France strategic partnership and is expected to feature in discussions during the PM’s engagements with French President Emmanuel Macron.Modi will travel to France at Macron’s invitation to participate in the 52nd G7 Summit from June 15 to 17, where India has been invited as a partner country. This will mark India’s 13th participation in the grouping and Modi’s seventh consecutive appearance at the summit.French sources said Paris had pushed for India’s participation across all G7 tracks, including foreign affairs, economic and finance discussions, and New Delhi eventually joined each of them.Secretary (West) Sibi George said the Prime Minister would participate in outreach sessions focusing on the renewal of international partnerships, development solidarity, balanced growth and the effective rollout of artificial intelligence.He said India’s repeated invitations to the G7 reflected the growing recognition of its role in addressing global challenges relating to peace, security, development and environmental sustainability, as well as its efforts to champion the concerns of the Global South.The French presidency has identified six priorities for this year’s summit, including addressing macroeconomic imbalances, strengthening critical mineral supply chains, protecting minors online, tackling organised crime and resolving major geopolitical crises.