Nuclear deal proof of India-Australia trust: Abbott
September 6, 2014, 5:40 am

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott at Indian icon Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial Raj Ghat in New Delhi on 5 September 2014 [Image: www.gov.au]

Although India is not a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Abbott on Friday praised India as a model international citizen, one that Canberra trusts implicitly, he said.

“India has an absolutely impeccable non-proliferation record – an absolutely impeccable non-proliferation record – and India has been a model international citizen,” said Abbott.

Australian uranium shipments to India could, however, take 4-5 years owing to domestic constraints, says an Indian daily report.

“Whether it takes a year, two years, that’s really a matter for the market to determine,” said Abbott.

India has 20 nuclear power reactors and plans to quadruple its capacity by 2020. Australia has 40 per cent of the world’s known uranium reserves.

In India, more than half the population still has either unreliable or no access to electricity.

The Australian decision, although geared to fight the energy poverty in India, has been criticised for circumventing the NPT and severely weakening it.

The US administration had imposed sanctions on Delhi after its 1998 nuclear bomb tests. The tests confirmed India as a nuclear power and led neighbouring Pakistan to follow its lead.

Later in 2005, however, the US had overturned its decision and agreed to aid India’s civil nuclear programme.

Meanwhile, Iran, which is a signatory to the NPT ratifying the global accord, had accused Western countries of double standards while dealing with India’s nuclear ambitions. On Friday, a UN monitoring agency said Iran is yet to fully address all nuclear concerns, in a further setback to international agreement over its nuclear program.

TBP and Agencies