Australia, India conclude civil nuclear agreement

NEW DELHI — Australia and India have reached an agreement over civil nuclear cooperation, which opens the door for uranium sales to the South Asian nation as it battles power shortages.

“I welcome our conclusion of a bilateral civil nuclear agreement, which will support India’s energy needs,” Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott wrote in The Hindu newspaper before a ceremony held yesterday evening to sign agreements. The deal comes two years after the two sides concluded nuclear talks, which began after Australia lifted a long-standing ban on selling uranium to energy-starved India.

The nuclear deal had been high on the agenda for Mr Abbott during his two-day visit, which began on Thursday. “India is the world’s emerging democratic superpower,” he said. “This is an important sign of the mutual trust that exists between Australia and India.”

Mr Abbott’s visit comes at a time when Mr Modi has been trying to improve relations with several other Asian nations. Both India and Australia are seen by United States President Barack Obama as important supporters of the US pivot into the Asia-Pacific, which is designed to counter China’s growing influence and territorial claims in the region.

Mr Abbott is the first world leader to be accorded a full state visit in New Delhi following Mr Modi’s election victory in May, underlining the growing importance of ties between the countries.

“A warm welcome to PM Tony Abbott! I am sure his visit will further strengthen ties between Australia and India,” Mr Modi said in a tweet yesterday.

“A spectacular official welcome to India by Prime Minister,” Mr Abbott tweeted in response, referring to the formal welcome ceremony in the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan — the official home of the President of India.

In an apparent bid to remove an irritant between the two nations, Mr Abbott yesterday also handed over to Mr Modi a US$5 million (S$6.25 million) statue of the Hindu god Shiva that had been illegally trafficked to Australia, as well as a stone statue that had been displayed in an Australian gallery.

Trade between the countries has tripled over the past decade, reaching A$15.2 billion (S$17.9 billion) last year as Indian demand for Australian coal and other commodities surged.

India is eager to expand its nuclear power capacity because it faces chronic shortages of electricity. About 65 per cent of its installed power generation capacity comes from burning fossil fuels including oil, coal and natural gas.

Australia, which has almost a third of the world’s known uranium reserves, imposes strict conditions on uranium exports, and India’s failure to sign its nuclear non-proliferation treaty had long been a barrier to a trade deal. Agencies