Australian plans to sell uranium to India

Melbourne, 26 July: Australia may sell uranium to India if the federal cabinet approves a submission from Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer.

The sale may be approved by the National Security Committee of the Australian federal cabinet even though the booming South Asian country is not a signatory to the international Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Prime Minister John Howard has, according to The Australian newspaper, told his cabinet colleagues that it is hard to justify why Australia exports uranium to China but refuses to export to India.

The Australian media has been highlighting the impeccable Indian record as far as managing nuclear programme is concerned, while China has been often accused of compromising by exporting nuclear technology.

If the uranium sale to India is approved by the federal cabinet, Australia would negotiate a nuclear safeguards agreement with India.

The agreement would be to ensure the Australian uranium is used only for the approved activities.

The development has come a day after the news that the US and India have finalised details of their nuclear cooperation agreement.

India has agreed, according to the media reports, to separate its civil nuclear energy programme from its weapons programme under the deal with the US.

The agreement would put 14 of the 22 Indian nuclear power stations under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The future Australian sale of uranium to India is being seen as a major shift in policy as the South pacific country deals only with the signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The Australian sale of uranium to India is also likely to come under heavy fire from the Australian environmentalists and the Greens.

UNI