By Manish Chand, IANS
Johannesburg : Amid uncertainty over the India-US nuclear deal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday said a political consensus over it was being evolved, even as Brazil and South Africa backed the path-breaking pact.
“The process of evolving a political consensus back home is on,” Manmohan Singh told reporters when asked about domestic compulsions in the way of implementing the nuclear deal.
India’s quest for global nuclear integration, meanwhile, got a boost when Brazil and South Africa offered their support in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) for the deal and in promoting peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
A joint declaration issued at the end of the IBSA (India-Brazil-South Africa) summit here said the three countries would explore approaches to cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear technology under the appropriate International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.
They agreed that international civil nuclear cooperation, under appropriate IAEA safeguards, among countries committed to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation objectives could be enhanced through acceptable forward looking approaches, consistent with their national and international objectives, the declaration said.
“Discussions are on. It is a work in progress. We are for peaceful uses of nuclear energy,” said South African President Thabo Mbeki.