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Tuesday, Jun 24, 2008
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We will not give uranium to countries that are not party to NPT: Australia

P.S. Suryanarayana

“Willing to consider, if and when needed, India’s nuclear accord with the U.S.”

— Photo: PTI

SUPPORT FOR DISARMAMENT: External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his Australian counterpart, Stephen Smith, addressing a joint press conference in Canberra on Monday.

SINGAPORE: India and Australia on Monday reaffirmed their “strong support” for non-proliferation, while Canberra expressed its willingness to “consider,” if and when needed, New Delhi’s civil nuclear energy accord with the United States.

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith outlined this at a press conference in Canberra, after holding talks with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Mr. Smith said: “If and when the 123 Agreement [between India and the U.S. on the civil nuclear energy issue] comes before either the Nuclear Suppliers Group [NSG] or the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency], we will give consideration to it at that point in time.”

At the same press conference, Mr. Mukherjee said, “Australia’s commitment to non-proliferation is firm, and we respect that.”

The two leaders, in a joint statement issued after the Australia-India Foreign Ministers Framework Dialogue, the fifth in a series and first since 2005, “reiterated their strong support for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.”

The statement was silent, though, on the firm stand by Australia that it would not, as a member of the NSG, export uranium to countries which did not accede to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Mr. Smith had, however, emphasised this in comments to the media before his talks with Mr. Mukherjee and pointed out that India was not a signatory to that treaty.

New dynamism

Mr. Mukherjee’s hectic schedule in Canberra was marked by Australia’s pledges of a new dynamism in bilateral ties beyond the nuclear issue.

He called on Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, and was, in a rare goodwill gesture, escorted to the floor of Parliament during question time. And, in Mr. Mukherjee’s presence, Mr. Smith answered a question on Australia-India ties. Visiting dignitaries are usually received at the Parliament gallery and not the floor itself.

As part of the framework dialogue, India and Australia signed an extradition treaty and a mutual legal assistance pact to “address criminal matters” in a practical and collaborative fashion.

They announced the decision to commence dialogue at the level of the chiefs of defence forces from the two sides. The first session of the high-level defence dialogue will be held in Australia later this year.

The existing mechanisms for bilateral engagement in such areas as counter-terrorism and economic cooperation were re-emphasised.

The two Ministers said a new forum, the Australia-India Roundtable, would be convened by Lowy Institute and the Indian Council for World Affairs for annual dialogue among influential individuals from both sides.

People-to-people links

Emphasising people-to-people links and noting that over 52,000 Indian students were now enrolled in Australia, the two Ministers announced the formation of a new joint working group on visas, passports, and consular matters.

Mr. Smith pledged to “continue to address concerns about the safety and well-being of Indian students in Australia.”

The participants in the Framework Dialogue included, on the Indian side, Secretary (East) N. Ravi and High Commissioner Sujatha Singh.

Mr. Mukherjee remarked, during the press conference, that his visit to Australia now was “very short, almost like a 20-20 encounter” in cricket.

And, Mr. Smith replied that “we need to make sure we apply ourselves to the Indian relationship, as if it were a test match day in, day out.”

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