Australia and India to Start Uranium Sale Talks
By Ben Doherty
Australia and India will begin negotiations for the sale of Australian uranium to the subcontinent this month.
Officials from both sides will start the process of hammering out a nuclear safeguards agreement in Delhi on March 19, but it is likely to be two years before a deal is signed and sales begin.
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman said there was no time frame for talks to be completed.
India will be the first customer for Australian uranium not a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. It has between 80 and 100 nuclear weapons but has refused to sign the treaty, arguing it discriminates against emerging nations.
India has long expressed a desire for Australian uranium, and Australia’s long-standing refusal to sell it, overturned only last year, was seen as an affront.
