Uday Bhaskar hopes Australian PM's visit will pave way for nuke deal

Security and strategic analyst C Uday Bhaskar on Thursday hoped that Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott's visit to India will pave the way for a deal on the nuclear issue to be resolved in a satisfactory manner.

"The visit of the Australian Prime Minister is very important for the bilateral relationship. For a long time, India and Australia have been trying to deal with the nuclear issue and arrive at some kind of a modus-vivendi. My sense is that the visit of Abbot would allow for the nuclear issue to be resolved in a satisfactory manner," Bhaskar told ANI here.

The Australian Prime Minister arrived in India on a two-day visit, which will reportedly entail the signing of a nuclear agreement that will enable Australia to sell uranium to India.

Efforts in this direction have been underway since 2012 after the Labor Party reversed its decision to ban the sale of uranium to India because of New Delhi not being a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Abbott has described the visit as an 'opportunity to engage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi early in the term of his government to increase bilateral cooperation to advance our mutual interests'.

The Australian Prime Minister is scheduled to meet President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi tomorrow.

Abbot is being accompanied by a group of senior business leaders on his visit.

Australia and India have strong and growing economic and trade ties. India is Australia's fifth largest export market, with total exports of USD 11.4 billion. There is potential for increased cooperation between the two sides in resources, science, technology and education.