Australian Prime Minister May Sell Uranium Ore to India if It Abides by Nuclear Commitments

According to Reuters, Australian Prime Minister Howard said that Australia will consider selling uranium to India if it is convinced that India will comply with international nuclear safety regulatory measures for its civilian nuclear reactors.

Howard made the above remarks when he arrived in India on the evening of the 5th. He will pay a four-day visit to India. India and the United States reached an agreement days ago on a landmark nuclear project cooperation agreement that will allow India to obtain nuclear fuel and reactors from the global market to meet its growing energy needs.

Australia, which holds nearly half of the world's known uranium resources, would like to increase uranium exports, but its policies rule out exports to countries like India that are not signatories to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. But this issue is expected to feature prominently on the agenda of talks between the two sides. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he would ask Howard to support the India-US nuclear deal.

A prime ministerial statement issued by Howard's office in Australia said: "It is true that our long-standing policy only sells uranium to members of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, but we need to look at what the Americans have done and when we receive further information, we This will be further assessed. Australia does have abundant uranium. We are willing to sell uranium if the regulations are followed and safety regulations are in place, but we have to be satisfied with the safety regulations."

Howard said that India-US cooperation on civilian nuclear projects is a positive development. He said Australia has a very positive attitude towards India. "I welcome the fact that many of India's nuclear capabilities will be subject to international inspection for the first time. This is certainly a big step forward," he said.

There was a chill in India-Australia relations after India conducted a nuclear test in 1998. Howard told Reuters in an interview last week that under current policy, Australia would not sell uranium to India. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India hopes that this policy can change. "I hope Australia will be an important partner in this," he told an Australian newspaper. "We don't have enough uranium, we need to import uranium and our demand is going to increase in the next few years."

India, which has the third-largest economy in Asia, is hoping to use nuclear power to meet its growing energy needs, but its uranium reserves are less than one percent of the world's. Nuclear energy currently accounts for only three percent of India's energy production. Under the agreement with the United States, India will distinguish between civilian and military nuclear facilities and place civilian nuclear facilities under international security controls to prevent nuclear proliferation.