Australia softens stand on uranium sales

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New Delhi, Aug 18 : The world’s largest uranium supplier, Australia, seems to have softened its hawkish stance on selling nuclear materials to India. While it has consistently supported the Indo-US nuclear deal given India’s energy needs, Australia’s traditional position has been to refuse uranium sales to countries that haven’t signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Speaking to FE, Australia’s senior trade commissioner for South Asia Peter Linford said his country would be ready to supply uranium to India as soon as the NSG waiver and US Congress ratification comes through.

“Australia will support the global ratification. So, if it (the deal) gets through the American Congress, we will support that decision. So the answer to your question is yes, we can see uranium supplies to (India),” Linford said in reply to a specific query about the possibility of Australia starting uranium exports to India.

The 45-member Nuclear Supplier’s Group, of which Australia is a key member, is meeting in Vienna on August 21 to consider a special waiver for India in the context of the Indo-US civilian nuclear co-operation agreement. Australia is also part of the 35-member Board of Governors’ of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which approved an inspections agreement with India earlier this month.

Last month, after the Manmohan Singh government won the parliamentary trust vote over the nuclear deal, the Australian foreign minister Stephen Smith reiterated that it would support the India-US nuclear deal but would not budge from its policy of ‘no uranium exports to non-NPT signatories.’ Again, last week, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd reiterated Australia’s support to the India-US nuclear deal at the NSG meeting, while staying mum on uranium sales.