New Delhi: Australia on Wednesday said it will stand by its decision of not allowing export of uranium to India unless New Delhi signs Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Ruling out any "rethinking" on the issue, Australian Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Chris Evans said Australia will not review its policy on export of uranium to India unless it signs the treaty.
"The government policy in relation to export of uranium is that we export it to signatories of NPT only. It is not a question of a decision about India or any other country," Evans said here.
New Delhi has been maintaining that its commitment to
non-proliferation is `second to none` and so Australia should
review its decision of not selling the yellow cake to India.
The previous Conservative party government in
Australia had in principle agreed to export uranium but the
Labour government has some strong views on the issue.
Explaining his Government`s stand, Evans said exporting uranium to other countries has been a "controversial" issue in Australia`s politics.
"Probably inside India, there is not a large understanding of how controversial the issue of uranium export has been in Australia`s politics. It is been something which dominated debates in Labour party for a long time," he said.
Bureau Report