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New Delhi, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott arrived in New Delhi Thursday on a two-day visit during which both countries will look at ways to deepen strategic ties and strengthen bilateral trade and commerce.
The big-ticket item on the agenda, however, is the likely signing on September 5 of a long-pending civil nuclear agreement that will smooth the way for uranium sales to India.
“I am hoping to sign a nuclear cooperation agreement, which will enable uranium sales by Australia to India… We ought to be prepared to provide uranium to India under suitable safeguards,” Abbott told his country’s Parliament in Canberra, before leaving for India.
Australia stands to earn billions of dollars by selling uranium to India if the the deal, talks for which started in 2012, goes through.
India is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, a stand that has led to political opposition to the deal in Australia. Earlier, Australia had refused to sign such a deal but now says it has ensured adequate safeguards; the pact will be similar to what India has with Canada.
According to Robb, Australia is “satisfied” about adequate safeguards in place.
Meanwhile, Australia has stopped supplying uranium to Russia as part of the recent trade sanctions over that country’s alleged support to pro-Russian insurgents battling Ukraine.
So far, India and Australia have held five rounds of negotiations on the civilian nuclear energy pact. “We have had five productive rounds. We will see what happens finally… There could be a signing ceremony on September 5,” said Sanjay Bhattacharya, joint secretary (south) in the external affairs ministry.
Australia, which has no nuclear power plants of its own, holds 40 per cent of the world’s uranium reserves and is one of the top exporters of the precious commodity. According to official data, it mined 7,529 tonnes of uranium in 2011-12, worth Australian $782 million. Uranium must be highly processed further for use in nuclear reactors.
India operates 20 nuclear reactors, mostly small, at six sites, with a capacity of 4,780 Mw, a meagre 2% of its total capacity, according to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India. The government hopes to increase the country’s nuclear capacity to 63,000 Mw by 2032 by adding about 30 reactors at an estimated cost of $85 billion.
The Australian PM will also meet with President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. He is accompanied by Andrew Robb, Australian minister for trade and investment, as well as a 31-member business delegation to explore opportunities in India across sectors, especially energy.
Both countries are also expected to make progress on talks for a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (Ceca). Despite five rounds of talks, little progress has been made because of India’s demand for greater access to the Australian labour market for its professionals, as well as Australia seeking more liberal entry norms for its dairy firms.
Bhattacharya said such an agreement had to be “mutually beneficial” for both parties.
Recently, the Australia India Business Council and the Australia India Institute releaed a white paper, ‘The Australia-India Trade Relationship — Past, Present and Future Possibilities’, which addressed the declining trade between the two countries, and suggested Ceca be made a priority. Between 2009 and 2013, trade between the two countries plummeted 26 per cent.
