Kazakhstan favours civilian Nuke cooperation with India

New Delhi, May 12 (UNI) Kazakhstan, a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), is in favour of discussing civilian nuclear cooperation with India but is non-committal about its support to the Indo-US Civilian nuclear agreement in the 45-nation nuclear lobby.

The two countries are also negotiating an Extradition Treaty and a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) for cooperation against terrorism.

Mr Serik Abdrakhmanov, Chairman of the Committee for International Affairs, Defence and Security, of the Kazakhstan Parliament, told UNI that Kazakhstan which is the second biggest country in the world with uranium reserves, was looking for cooperation with India in diverse fields.

''We can discuss these issues. We may cooperate in this field also,'' he said when asked whether Kazakhstan would consider civilian nuclear cooperation with India.

Mr Abdrakhmanov, who is currently in India leading a five-member delegation of senior Kazakh Parliamentarians on a four-day visit, when asked whether Kazakhstan would support the Indo-US Nuclear Deal in the NSG, was non-committal and said Kazakhstan had never been against any such cooperation as long as it served the people.

''As long as it serves the people, Kazakhstan has never been against any such cooperation,'' he said.

On cooperation in energy sector, he said soon Kazakhstan would be producing 150 million tonnes of oil per year. It has oil and gas reserves for the next 60-80 years.

It also has world's one third reserves of chromium.

On the issue of fight against terrorism, Mr Abdrakhmanov said the two countries were working in cooperation in the fight against terrorism and are negotiating an Extradition Treaty and a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty.

A Joint Working Group (JWG) already exists between the two countries for fighting terrorism.

The two countries also have an arrangement under the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) with the aim of ensuring security and stability in the Asian continent and both countries could work under the CICA framework.

''Terrorism and terrorist groups don't recognise any borders.

They use the latest technology and are equipped with modern hardware. India has great skill in combating terrorism and if both countries work together, it will be very, very effective,'' he said.

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