India given go-ahead on nuclear trade despite proliferation fears
(B Mathur/Reuters)
Manmohan Singh, the India prime minister, hailed the waiver as a ’momentous decision’
Jeremy Page, Delhi
India is celebrating its admission to the world's nuclear club today following a decision by the 45 nations that legally supply atomic fuel and technology to lift a decades-old ban on nuclear trade with the country.
The Nuclear Suppliers' Group agreed yesterday to waive its restrictions on atomic trade with India, even though it has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
The NSG was set up after India shocked the world by testing its first atomic device in 1974 and has prevented Delhi ever since from importing the nuclear material it needs to help meet skyrocketing domestic energy demand.
India and the United States had lobbied hard for the waiver, which they needed to activate a bilateral nuclear deal struck in 2005 that allows India to import US nuclear supplies and is the cornerstone of a new strategic relationship.
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However, the waiver also allows India to trade with all the other NSG members, even if the US deal fails to pass its final obstacle - winning approval from the US Congress, ideally before the presidential election in November.
Manmohan Singh, India's Prime Minister, hailed the waiver as "a forward-looking and momentous decision."
"It marks the end of India's decades-long isolation from the nuclear mainstream," he said in a statement.
"The opening of full civil nuclear cooperation between India and the international community will be good for India and for the world."
Mr Singh and President Bush, both of whom see the nuclear deal as a major foreign policy triumph, spoke by telephone yesterday to congratulate each other on the waiver.
Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, called the agreement a "landmark" and said final congressional approval would be "a huge step for the US-India relationship."
David Miliband, the British Foreign Secretary, agreed, adding the deal had the potential "to make a significant contribution to energy and climate security" in India and worldwide.
The waiver effectively opens up India's nuclear market, which is estimated to be worth several billion dollars as the country aims to double its share of nuclear power to between five and seven per cent by 2030.
The Confederation of Indian Industry forecasts business opportunities worth around $30 billion dollars over the next 15 years, as India needs 18 to 20 more nuclear reactors on top of its current 22.
However, detractors warned that the waiver could set a dangerous precedent in efforts to prevent other countries from developing their own nuclear weapons, especially North Korea and Iran.
"The decision is a nonproliferation disaster of historic proportions that will produce harm for decades to come," said Daryl Kimball, who heads the Washington-based Arms Control Association.
"Given India's history of violating its peaceful nuclear use agreements to build nuclear weapons, India's promises provide little confidence, especially if the consequences of noncompliance are not made clear by India's future potential nuclear supplier states," he said in a statement.
The waiver was also criticised in India, where opposition parties said it would restrict the country's military options and allow the United States too much control over Indian foreign policy.
When the NSG began its negotiations on Thursday, more than a dozen nations, including China and Japan, sought to block the waiver but their numbers soon dwindled to just three nations – Austria, Ireland and New Zealand.
They finally gave in after India pledged on Friday to support global non-proliferation efforts and not to share sensitive nuclear technology with other countries. The International Atomic Energy Agency signed off on the India-US nuclear deal last month.
Now, the Bush administration has to scramble to get approval from Congress in the few weeks remaining before the presidential election.
