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India signs nuclear inspections deal
Vienna (AFP) Feb 2, 2009 India signed an inspections agreement with the UN atomic watchdog on Monday as part of a deal lifting a 34-year-old embargo on nuclear trade with New Delhi, the International Atomic Energy Agency said. "An agreement between the government of India and the IAEA for the 'Application of Safeguards to Civilian Nuclear Facilities' was signed today in Vienna by IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei and Ambassador Saurabh Kumar of India," the agency said in a statement. "The safeguards agreement, which is the result of several rounds of consultations conducted between India and the IAEA since November 2007, was approved by the IAEA board of governors in August 2008," the statement said. The agreement would enter into force once it had been ratified by New Delhi, the watchdog continued. Up until now, India had allowed IAEA inspectors regular access to six nuclear reactors under safeguards agreements concluded between 1971 and 1994. But under the new agreement, "additional reactors are expected to be under IAEA safeguards in the future." In all, New Delhi has agreed to open up 14 of its 22 declared civilian reactors to regular IAEA inspections by 2014. The so-called safeguards agreement is a pre-condition for a US-led deal to allow nuclear nations to supply energy-hungry India with nuclear material and technology for civilian uses even though it refuses to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It was approved by consensus by the IAEA's board of governors in August. And in September, the Nuclear Suppliers Group, which controls the export and sale of nuclear technology, agreed to make a special exemption for India, even though it refuses to sign the NPT, having developed atomic bombs in secret and conducted its first nuclear test in 1974. The United States wanted a special waiver so it can share civilian nuclear technology with New Delhi. Critics say the deal undermines international non-proliferation efforts and accuse the nuclear powers of pursuing commercial and political gains. Dependent on oil imports, India is seeking to broaden its fuel sources to sustain its fast-growing economy. Nuclear power supplies around three percent of India's fuel needs but it aims to raise this to 25 percent by mid-century. Indian Premier Manmohan Singh signed a landmark nuclear deal with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in December covering the building of four new nuclear energy reactors in India. The United States and France are the other powers to have signed bilateral agreements with New Delhi but former Cold War ally Russia is as yet the only state actively involved in building reactors in India. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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Eyeing reactor deal, France hails Indian nuclear accord
Paris (AFP) Feb 2, 2009France, which hopes for deals to export tens of billions of dollars worth of nuclear technology to India, on Monday hailed the Asian giant's inspections agreement with the UN atomic watchdog. |
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