New Delhi: Notwithstanding the Fukushima
incident, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Wednesday made it
clear that his country was keen on having a civil nuclear deal
with India, hoping that it will be finalised soon.
Noda, who is on an official visit to India, welcomed the
progress in talks with India on a bilateral civil nuclear deal
and expressed the hope that it will be finalised soon.
He hailed India`s self-imposed moratorium on no-first
use of nuclear weapons and hoped this stance would continue.
"Japan is the only country which was attacked by a
nuclear weapon," he said, adding that its safe use was the
tenet for his country`s relations with other nations.
In reply to a question at a programme organised by
Indian Council of World Affairs, Noda said, "At the working
level, discussions on the civil nuclear deal have proceeded in
the right direction. I welcome this progress. I am hopeful it
will be achieved."
He stated that he had discussed this issue with External
Affairs Minister S M Krishna. The latter was present on the
occasion.
Noda`s comments assume significance as there have been
questions on the fate of the proposed deal, which is under
negotiation, after the radiation scare in Fukushima when
Tsunami hit a nuclear plant there on March 11.
Noda said the knowledge and lessons drawn from the
damage to Fukushima nuclear plant- during the Tsunami in
Japan- would be shared by the two countries to prevent such
incidents in future.
PTI
