India happy with Aussie plan to sell uranium

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Tuesday welcomed Australia’s move to sell uranium to India to meet its rapidly growing energy needs.

Krishna told reporters here on Tuesday, “We understand that Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard proposes to seek to change the ruling Labour Party’s policy on the sale of uranium to India in recognition of our energy needs. The impeccable record of our non-proliferation treaty (NPT) accord and strategic partnership on this will facilitate this.”

Australia, which has the highest amount of uranium reserves, is the third largest exporter of uranium.

Welcoming the initiative, Krishna said India attached great importance to its relations with Australia, which are growing across all spheres. “Prime Minister Gillard has proposed to take the issue up with the ruling party which had banned the sale of uranium to India. The issue has been resolved at the party level,” Krishna added.

For several decades, uranium mining has been a major part of the Australian political landscape. Opposition groups have trying to force stoppage of production and export of uranium citing wide-ranging environmental impacts, indigenous land access and nuclear proliferation. This debate had resulted in limitations on mining and export activities, with federal and state governments occasionally flip-flopping on public policy.

In the meantime, mining companies have pursued exploration activities, and in some instances stockpiled mined ore, with an expectation that the eventual removal of restrictions and uncertainties will occur due to the scale of economic benefits on offer.

“Energy is one of the key areas of our bilateral cooperation,” Krishna said on the margins of the 11th council of ministers of the Indian Ocean Rim Association of Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC), which got underway here.

Meanwhile, Krishna said India had discussions with Bangladesh on sharing of the Teesta water. “An agreement on this is around the corner after the meeting with the Bangladeshi government,” Krishna added. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Bannerjee, a few weeks ago, had agreed to part with 25,000 cusecs of Teesta water. But, Delhi had upped this to 33,000 cusecs. Mamata Bannerjee had even cancelled her visit to Bangladesh as part of the Prime Minister’s delegation over the issue.