India, Australia Eyeing Uranium Supply Deal

India and Australia are aiming to complete negotiations on a civil nuclear agreement for uranium supplies by the end of the year, The Times of India reported.

As quoted in the market news:

Patrick Suckling, Australia’s new envoy to India, said, “There is a lot of goodwill between our countries. The last two rounds of negotiations have gone well, and we have made good progress. But we have not put a time-frame for the negotiations to conclude because sometimes even the straight-looking issues become complex.”

Australia is looking for an “upfront” commitment from India on end-use verification of the uranium that will be imported by India as well as a non-proliferation guarantee. “It should be enshrined in the agreement that the uranium would be only used for peaceful purposes,” Suckling said. Australia is looking for a non-proliferation assurance from India that is similar to the one it has from other customers like China.

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