By IANS
Vienna/New Delhi : India and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Wednesday began crucial talks on finalising a safeguards agreement that will bring 14 Indian civilian nuclear reactors under global watch, clearing a key step for New Delhi’s nuclear deal with Washington.
Anil Kakodkar, chief of India’s Atomic Energy Commission, met IAEA director general Mohamed ElBaradei at the UN nuclear watchdog’s headquarters in Vienna for half an hour.
Indian ambassador to the IAEA Sheel Kant Sharma accompanied Kakodkar to ElBaradei’s office.
This was the first meeting between Kakodkar and the IAEA boss after India’s Left parties, which prop up the ruling coalition, allowed the government to approach the nuclear watchdog provided the text of the final safeguards pact be shown to them for approval before sending it to the 35-member IAEA board of governors for signing.
The two agreed to “initiate consultations on an India-specific safeguards agreement”, said a terse statement from the IAEA after Kakodkar’s meeting with ElBaradei.
The two sides hold their first technical meeting later this week.
The Department of Atomic Energy’s strategic planning group director Ravi B. Grover, along with other officials, is part of Kakodkar’s delegation.
India is aiming at the country-specific safeguards pact with the IAEA that will take into account India’s unique status as a state with nuclear weapons seeking global civilian nuclear cooperation.
“Talks went off well. We need to sort out the details, specially as we are aiming at fuel guarantees as part of the safeguards pact,” an Indian source said.
The IAEA has already laid some technical groundwork for the talks.
As India is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), India’s safeguards pact with the IAEA will be unlike the ones applicable to the five official nuclear weapons states and will also be different from the one applicable to non-nuclear weapon states.
The template for the India-IAEA pact will be INFCIRC 66, which entails putting 14 of its 22 civilian nuclear reactors under permanent safeguards.
Despite a constant refrain from the US about time running out for operationalising the nuclear deal, the Indian government has not set a timeline for concluding the safeguards pact with the IAEA – a crucial step that will pave the way for the resumption of global civil nuclear commerce with India.
Kakodkar’s meeting with ElBaradei comes a day ahead of the regular board meeting of the Vienna-based UN agency, which will discuss implementation issues on current safeguards and technical cooperation projects undertaken by it, specially the report on Iran.
The Indian government decided to approach the IAEA Friday for negotiations on an India-specific safeguards agreement after a green signal from its Left allies, who are fiercely opposed to the nuclear deal that they fear may reduce the country to a ‘subordinate ally’ of the US.
After India concludes a safeguards pact with the IAEA, the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) will hold a special meeting to decide on changing its guidelines to allow global civil nuclear commerce with New Delhi.
The 123 agreement between India and the US will then be sent to the US Congress for a final up and down vote before the two sides can resume civil nuclear commerce after a gap of nearly three decades.