The meeting arises from the Franco-British Summit in Paris on 9 June 2006, at which the two Heads of State confirmed their common will to set out their energy policy "in a long-term vision, determined by the objectives of security of supply, the fight against climate change and competitiveness".

Nuclear energy has been recognised as playing a role in achieving these goals and the two countries have agreed to work together to set up a "Nuclear Forum" in order to explore jointly aspects of nuclear energy.

Lord Truscott said:

'The UK Government recognises the importance of nuclear power as a source of clean energy. Nuclear energy presents many challenges, not least decommissioning and waste management and sharing experiences, expertise and technical knowledge from science, industry, policy and the regulators, across the Channel, will be invaluable. This exchanging of ideas will enable both the UK and France to learn from each other as we work towards a low carbon economy.'

Mr Loos said:

'France and the UK have a long shared history in the field of nuclear energy. They also share a vision on the need to fight climate change. I want this meeting of expert minds from both countries to progress towards shared solutions - on waste management and decommissioning. We need to look at the management of skills in engineering and development, and to work towards making nuclear energy acceptable.'