ID :
14481
Thu, 07/31/2008 - 19:28
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http://m.oananews.org//node/14481
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IAEA meets Friday to discuss India-specific safeguards pact
Lalitha Vaidyanathan Vienna, Jul 31 (PTI) As India hopes to resume nuclear commerce with the global community after a gap of 34 years, the I.A.E.A. Board of Governors meets here Friday in a crucial session to consider for approval a key step foroperationalisation of the Indo-US nuclear deal.
If the 35-member Board approves the India-specific safeguards agreement by consensus leading to the signing of an unprecedented document, it would pave the way for India'sintegration into the world of nuclear commerce.
Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar, who has already arrived here, will have a series of meetings to ensure a smooth sailing at the I.A.E.A. Board of Governors and the45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (N.S.G.), sources said.
He is expected to hold talks with all N.S.G. members also during his stay to bring them on board for giving India a "clean and unconditional waiver" ahead of the group's first meeting early next month. India is a member of I.A.E.A. butnot the NSG.
Kakodkar told PTI he would take part in all discussions including the negotiations that are underway on an Additional Protocol with the International Atomic Energy Agency(I.A.E.A.).
The I.A.E.A. agreement will form the basis for approaching the Nuclear Suppliers Group for removal of restrictions on nuclear trade with India and the so-called bilateral agreement with US in the form of the 123 agreement which gives exemption to New Delhi for nuclear commerce withthat country.
New Delhi is working on an India-specific 'Additional Protocol'. There is a possibility that the I.A.E.A. Board might insist that the India-specific 'Additional Protocol' is signed along with the safeguards agreement to enable operationalisation of inspection of the nuclear units declaredby New Delhi as civil.
An Agreement on the 'Additional Protocol' is mandatory as per the Indo-US joint statement on the civil nuclear cooperation of July 18, 2005, which was issued during PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh's Washington visit.
Additional protocol is just not another document but an instrument to operationalise and set forth a protocol to enable the agency to carry out its mandate as per theagreement, experts said.
For the first time India will be going for an India-specific additional protocol and since it is a de facto nuclear weapons state, INFCIR 540, which is meant for non-weapon state, may not be directly applicable to India, A.N. Prasad, former director of Bhabha Atomic Energy Agency,said adding there may be some exceptional conditions.
Meanwhile, the US is preparing a note to circulate among the 45 N.S.G. member countries next week after Friday'sI.A.E.A. meeting.
A draft of that note was supposed to have been given to Indian government for their opinion before finalising it, a USstrategic planner said.
Twenty-six of the I.A.E.A. board members are also partof N.S.G.
On July 18, New Delhi had organised a meeting to brief members of the I.A.E.A. board and N.S.G. on the India-specificsafeguards agreement.
The I.A.E.A. and N.S.G. agreements are expected to lead to several bilateral cooperation pacts with countries such asFrance, Russia in the near future.
Russia has explicitly said that for future reactors to be set up at Koodankulam in Tamil Nadu, the agreement with theI.A.E.A. is required.
Once New Delhi is out of the shackles of the embargo imposed 34 years ago following the Pokharan nuclear tests, there is scope for many such agreements to be reached to opennuclear commerce for India for imports as well as exports.
In other words, an I.A.E.A. agreement, though no doubt originating with the requirement set forth by the US to have a nuclear agreement with India, has much deeper implications inthe international context.
If the 35-member Board approves the India-specific safeguards agreement by consensus leading to the signing of an unprecedented document, it would pave the way for India'sintegration into the world of nuclear commerce.
Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar, who has already arrived here, will have a series of meetings to ensure a smooth sailing at the I.A.E.A. Board of Governors and the45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (N.S.G.), sources said.
He is expected to hold talks with all N.S.G. members also during his stay to bring them on board for giving India a "clean and unconditional waiver" ahead of the group's first meeting early next month. India is a member of I.A.E.A. butnot the NSG.
Kakodkar told PTI he would take part in all discussions including the negotiations that are underway on an Additional Protocol with the International Atomic Energy Agency(I.A.E.A.).
The I.A.E.A. agreement will form the basis for approaching the Nuclear Suppliers Group for removal of restrictions on nuclear trade with India and the so-called bilateral agreement with US in the form of the 123 agreement which gives exemption to New Delhi for nuclear commerce withthat country.
New Delhi is working on an India-specific 'Additional Protocol'. There is a possibility that the I.A.E.A. Board might insist that the India-specific 'Additional Protocol' is signed along with the safeguards agreement to enable operationalisation of inspection of the nuclear units declaredby New Delhi as civil.
An Agreement on the 'Additional Protocol' is mandatory as per the Indo-US joint statement on the civil nuclear cooperation of July 18, 2005, which was issued during PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh's Washington visit.
Additional protocol is just not another document but an instrument to operationalise and set forth a protocol to enable the agency to carry out its mandate as per theagreement, experts said.
For the first time India will be going for an India-specific additional protocol and since it is a de facto nuclear weapons state, INFCIR 540, which is meant for non-weapon state, may not be directly applicable to India, A.N. Prasad, former director of Bhabha Atomic Energy Agency,said adding there may be some exceptional conditions.
Meanwhile, the US is preparing a note to circulate among the 45 N.S.G. member countries next week after Friday'sI.A.E.A. meeting.
A draft of that note was supposed to have been given to Indian government for their opinion before finalising it, a USstrategic planner said.
Twenty-six of the I.A.E.A. board members are also partof N.S.G.
On July 18, New Delhi had organised a meeting to brief members of the I.A.E.A. board and N.S.G. on the India-specificsafeguards agreement.
The I.A.E.A. and N.S.G. agreements are expected to lead to several bilateral cooperation pacts with countries such asFrance, Russia in the near future.
Russia has explicitly said that for future reactors to be set up at Koodankulam in Tamil Nadu, the agreement with theI.A.E.A. is required.
Once New Delhi is out of the shackles of the embargo imposed 34 years ago following the Pokharan nuclear tests, there is scope for many such agreements to be reached to opennuclear commerce for India for imports as well as exports.
In other words, an I.A.E.A. agreement, though no doubt originating with the requirement set forth by the US to have a nuclear agreement with India, has much deeper implications inthe international context.
