Canberra, March 03: India and Australia have stepped up efforts to boost their strategic relationship even as Canberra has been reluctant to supply uranium to India despite its endorsement of the landmark Indo-US nuclear deal, a top Indian envoy said here on Tuesday.
Australia’s reluctance to supply uranium to India
despite endorsing the crucial India-US nuclear pact signed in
October 2008 has not come in the way of the two countries
efforts to build a vibrant strategic relationship, said
Sujatha Singh, India’s High Commissioner to Australia here.
Both want to enhance their political and economic cooperation
between the two countries, she stressed.
The top envoy said Australia, the home of 35 per cent
of uranium deposits of the world, supported India’s efforts to
get the endorsement of the Nuclear deal, both in the Nuclear
Suppliers Group, (NSG) and the IAEA.
However, Australia's decision not to supply uranium
to India is more "ideological" because that is the firm policy
of the ruling Labour Party, she told a group of visiting
Indian journalists here today.
India understands Kevin Rudd government’s inability to
decide in favour of supplying uranium and it will not come in
the way of forging strategic ties between the two countries,
she said, replying to questions on the rational of Australia
not willing supply uranium despite NSG and IAEA endorsements.
The ruling Labour Party has an "ideological" stand on
the NPT and uranium and in fact sections of the party are even
opposed to even uranium mining, she said, adding that it is
unlikely that Australia reverses its decision in the near
future.
Senior Australian Foreign Ministry officials in their
briefings played down the arguments that Canberra supplies the
nuclear fuel to China despite allegation of providing nuclear
technology to Pakistan.
“Our concerns relates to uranium and not related to
nuclear technology,” one Australian official said, adding that
Beijing was being supplied with uranium as it is an NPT
signatory, which was a key requirement for the Labour party’s
policy.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, March 03, 2009, 00:00