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New Delhi: Backing New Delhi's quest for civilian nuclear cooperation, Japan on Tuesday indicated it was likely to back New Delhi in the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). Tokyo however requested Delhi to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) and ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
"We intend to join the discussions which will be held in future. I understand the significance of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy as it reduces emissions," Japan's Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura said here at a joint press conference with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
"On the other hand we also explained that Japan - being the only country to have suffered atomic bombs - has been helping the world in international efforts towards nuclear disarmament," he said after concluding the second India-Japan strategic dialogue here.
Development aid
Koumura also announced additional Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) of $1.04 billion (Dh3.8 billion) for an array of projects in India, including the proposed Chennai Metro, Punjab Biomass power plant and construction of the Hyderabad Outer Ring Road.
"We need to confirm this nuclear cooperation is satisfactory and it will further strengthen disarmament and not undermine it," Koumura replied when a Japanese journalist asked him about his discussions with his Indian counterpart on the India-US civil nuclear deal.
"We have been requesting India to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. This position has not changed," Koumura said while alluding to Japan's strong sensitivity on nuclear non-proliferation issues. Koumura, the first foreign minister from an NSG country to visit India after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) approved the India-specific safeguards agreement, also called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and discussed with him a wide array of bilateral and global issues.
PM's likely Japan visit
Manmohan Singh is likely to go to Japan towards the end of the year. A bilateral trade treaty is expected to be signed during his visit.
With the 63rd anniversary of the atomic attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki today and strong anti-nuclear domestic sentiment in his country, Koumura, however, did not spell out Japan's stand in the NSG - which has to decide at a meeting, likely on August 21, on changing its guidelines to allow global nuclear trade with India.
Mukherjee thanked Japan for joining the consensus at the IAEA that paved the way for a consideration of the nuclear deal by the NSG.
Underlining India's impeccable record in nuclear trade, he also stressed that India's quest for global civil nuclear cooperation was "limited to only peaceful uses of nuclear energy".
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