India inks pact with Ukraine on nuclear safety

Four other pacts, including framework agreement to expand defence ties were also inked between the two countries after comprehensive talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych during which they agreed to forge a comprehensive partnership between their countries.

Noting that they exchanged views on nuclear energy and nuclear safety, where they can learn a great deal from each other, Singh said, "The unfortunate Chernobyl accident has given Ukraine valuable insight and knowledge in dealing with this critical issue.

"Through the Agreement that has just been signed between the nuclear regulatory authorities of both sides, we have agreed to share our experiences in nuclear safety and radiation protection."

The nuclear disaster on 26 April, 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine (then officially Ukrainian SSR) is one of only two classified accidents as a level 7 event on the International Nuclear Event Scale, the other being the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011.

Significantly, some of the experts working in Kudankulam nuclear plant are of Ukrainian origin.

In a press statement, the Prime Minister also said that the two countries were already undertaking a number of defence cooperation projects and today's defence cooperation agreement establishes a new framework for expending this cooperation.

Apart from nuclear safety and defence, the three pacts inked are-- Cooperation in the Fields of Science and Technology, Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Civil and Commercial Matters and Standardisation, Conformity Assessment and Quality cooperation. MORE