New Delhi: Britain on Saturday said the just-concluded civil nuclear agreement with India opens doors to "greater collaboration" between companies in the two countries and new opportunities to address shared challenges like nuclear waste management.
British Minister for Business, Innovations and Skills Pat McFadden, who is currently here on a visit, said the deal is a "major step forward" in the UK-India nuclear relationship in line with Britain`s strong non-proliferation commitments.
"As our economies continue to grow, demand for energy will increase and with it the need to produce sustainable, low-carbon solutions to address this challenge. Investment in new technologies in nuclear power generation will help meet it," he said, in a speech at the Centre for Professional and Technical Training, Campus of Open Learning.
McFadden said the deal will allow both countries to collaborate and jointly tackle the key 21st century challenges of energy security and climate change.
He said UK will welcome two high-level Indian delegations during which the partnership in this sector will "truly kick-start".
He said UK has invited senior representatives from the Nuclear Power Corporation of India to attend the Nuclear New Build Conference 2010 in London.
"This event will bring together representatives from 15 nations to discuss business and technology opportunities, focusing on India and the UAE," he said.
McFadden said as the world move towards a low carbon world, movement between our people will take on even greater significance.
"We already know that the way we power our cars, heat our homes, fuel our factories has to change if we are to help preserve the environment. For both our populations this will be a huge challenge but also an enormous industrial opportunity and one that brings with it the prospect of many new jobs," he said.
According to him, British universities are increasing their collaborations with India by setting up dedicated institutes in the UK and there is now Cambridge University`s Centre for India and Global Business and others.
He said the UK intends to use the British Council`s Connecting Classrooms programme to deliver a new initiative for school leadership, specifically asked for by Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal during his recent visit to the UK.
He said a team of British researchers will be setting up an experimental plantation in an Indian village to grow crops which can be used not only for energy, but also for food, animal feed, soap and even pesticides.
PTI
