After visiting Saudi Arabia, Sarkozy arrived Monday in Qatar and was to go on to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where he is expected to sign a framework accord Tuesday on nuclear energy cooperation.

France is home to a world-leading nuclear industry, spearheaded by Areva -- which builds reactors, mines uranium and supplies fuel -- and the utility Electricite de France, which operates nuclear plants.

Sarkozy is vying to lead a global revival of the multi-billion dollar industry, fuelled by worries about global warming and high energy prices, and has vowed to "help any country which wants to acquire civilian nuclear power".

The UAE, which like other Gulf states is interested in civilian nuclear power despite its oil and gas wealth, is set to become the third Arab country to ink such a deal with Paris, after accords with Algeria and Libya.

On Monday, the French oil giant Total announced it had reached agreement with Areva and utility group Suez on plans to build two next-generation nuclear power plants in Abu Dhabi.

Nuclear cooperation also came up during Sarkozy's talks in Riyadh, where he proposed sending French experts to work on the question of nuclear energy. He has also agreed to examine possible nuclear ties with Morocco and Egypt.

Areva signed an eight-billion-euro (12-billion-dollar) deal in November to deliver two reactors to energy-hungry China, and is bidding to build others in the United States and South Africa.

Around the world, Vietnam, Indonesia, Chile and Argentina are already on the list of prospective buyers of French-designed nuclear reactors, while Paris is hoping to sign a nuclear energy accord with New Delhi during a visit by Sarkozy this month.

But by stepping up nuclear cooperation with the Arab world, Sarkozy hopes to increase the diplomatic isolation of Iran, whose nuclear programme, long held secret, is suspected of concealing military ambitions.

Sarkozy has said the "sharing of civilian nuclear (technology) will be one of the foundations of a pact of confidence which the West must forge with the Islamic world."

"If you tell Arab nations they are not allowed civilian nuclear power because they are Arab, you give an extraordinary bonus to Iran, which has made that its whole argument."

For Francois Heisbourg, of the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the "key to France's strategy is the Iranian affair" and a wish to highlight Iran's mistake in defying the international community over the nuclear question.

"It is hard to mobilise non-nuclear countries against Iran if you treat them the same as Iran," which is under international sanctions for its refusal to comply with UN demands concerning its nuclear programme.

However Sarkozy's strategy has fuelled concerns over the potential risk of supplying nuclear technology to an unstable region, dominated by authoritarian regimes and prey to Islamic extremism.

"The risk of proliferation goes up with every country that uses nuclear energy," German Energy Minister Gernot Erler warned after news of France's decision to supply nuclear technology to Libya.

French environmentalists accuse Sarkozy of riding roughshod over concerns about human rights, the environment and international security.

Jean-Pierre Maulny, of France's Institute for International and Strategic Relations (IRIS), warns of a risk associated with the spread of nuclear energy in such a sensitive region.

"There is a question mark about proliferation. Once you have a civilian nuclear programme, you can also have a military nuclear programme unless everything is perfectly controlled."

But for Heisbourg, "the potential for proliferation" linked to French civilian nuclear aid is "extremely limited" compared to the risk of covert programmes based on technology transferred from countries such as Pakistan.

earlier related report
France inks energy deals with Qatar during Sarkozy visit
France and Qatar signed electricity and nuclear power deals on Monday after President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in Doha from Saudi Arabia, where he forecast that Paris would win multi-billion dollar contracts in the future.

Areva Transmission and Distribution, a subsidiary of French nuclear power group Areva, signed a contract worth 470 million euros (695 million dollars) for the supply of sub-stations to provide electricity throughout Qatar with the Gulf state's water and electricity company Kahrama, a source in Sarkozy's delegation said.

A memorandum of understanding was also inked by Qatar with Electricite de France (EDF) to "discuss cooperation in the production of nuclear power and renewable -- solar and wind -- energies," the source said.

The talks will initially cover an agreement to help conduct a feasibility study and will not involve an investment, the source said.

Another MoU provided for cooperation at the international level between Qatar Petroleum International and Gaz de France.

French and Qatari officials also discused a series of other accords potentially worth 6.3 billion euros (9.3 billion dollars).

Around 20 business bosses, including Areva chief executive Anne Lauvergeon and Christophe de Margerie, head of the Total oil group, were accompanying the French leader in the Qatari capital.

Before leaving the Saudi capital earlier on Monday, Sarkozy had reiterated an offer to Arab and Muslim countries to share French expertise to develop civilian nuclear energy.

On Tuesday, France is expected to sign an accord on civilian nuclear cooperation with the United Arab Emirates, the third and final stage of Sarkozy's Gulf tour.

It will be the third such agreement with an Arab country, following those reached with Algeria and Libya in December.

Sarkozy told the Saudi Shura (consultative) Council "it is in the name of justice that France believes that access to civilian nuclear power should be the right of all peoples."

In a speech to the 150-strong advisory council, Sarkozy said: "France wants to be a friend of Saudi Arabia, a friend of the Arab world, a friend who does not lecture but tells the truth."

While not signing any firm commercial deals in Saudi Arabia, the president said French companies would in the weeks and months ahead sign major contracts with Riyadh potentially worth 40 billion euros (59 billion dollars).

"They are immense contracts, both civilian and military," Sarkozy told reporters. "We are talking about 40 billion euros in potential deals."

A presidential aide said current talks between the two sides focused on land transport, civil aviation, water and electricity, internal security and weapons.

Sarkozy, who is on his first Gulf tour since taking office in May, stressed the close ties between Riyadh and Paris.

An aide said the president suggested to King Abdullah that a team from France's Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) visit Riyadh "in the coming weeks to work on the question of civilian nuclear power." The king noted the suggestion.

Four cooperation agreements were signed late on Sunday in Riyadh, one covering oil, gas and mineral resources, two others on university training in France and professional training, and one on "political dialogue" at foreign ministry level.

Sarkozy also said that Paris "unreservedly supports" an Arab League plan to resolve the political crisis in Lebanon, describing it as "fully compatible" with proposals made by France.

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