Uranium sales are set to be a key issue of discussions between Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her counterparts in New Delhi during an official visit to India.
The Australian Prime Minister is currently on a three-day state visit to the Indian capital, where she will enter discussions on uranium sales to the South Asian giant.
Australia has previously been averse to the sale of uranium to India on the grounds that the country is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The incumbent Labor government reverse a 30-year ban on uranium sales to India last year however, in order to bolster ties with the emerging Asian nation as well as potential rival to China’s regional ambitions.
The Australian (paywall) reports that Gillard maintains the stance any uranium sold “is only used for peaceful purposes,” and has said that the International Atomic Energy Agency would be involved in any sales agreement.
It is expected that the discussions will focus on 22 safeguard agreements with respect to any potential uranium sales.
Prime Minister Gillard’s decision to open discussions on uranium sales to India has already triggered opposition from the Australian Greens Party and Indian anti-nuclear activists. The ABC reports that Indian activists have petitioned the Australian PM to refuse to export uranium to the country, while the Greens’ nuclear policy spokesman Scott Ludlam considers the move to be “a mistake.”
