India, Japan to resume talks on civil nuclear pact

Last negotiation was held three years ago.

After a gap of nearly three years, India and Japan will resume their negotiations on the civil nuclear pact tomorrow in Tokyo where the officials will meet for the fourth round. Launched in 2010, the nuclear-energy negotiations have been on hold since the Fukushima nuclear accident in March 2011.

The last round was held in November 2010. The fourth round comes three months after the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in Tokyo where they decided to direct their officials to accelerate the negotiations of an

“Agreement for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy” towards an early conclusion. During their meeting, Singh and Abe had reaffirmed the importance of civil nuclear cooperation between both countries while recognizing that nuclear safety is a priority for both governments.

Significantly, the joint statement, issued after the May meeting, did not carry any reference to India signing the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a precondition for Japan to consider civil nuclear cooperation.