After 16 hours of talks among nuclear-exporting countries
about nuclear exports to India, diplomats said early Saturday in Vienna that
they expected to approve a trade exemption for New Delhi later Saturday
morning.
The 45 members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) who set nuclear export
control rules are working to find consensus on a United States' proposal to
give India's growing atomic energy sector access to global suppliers.
Finding agreement among the NSG hinged on Austria, Ireland and New Zealand, who
insisted that the trade exemption should take the possibility of an Indian
nuclear weapons test into consideration.
The Indian foreign minister's declaration on Friday about his country's
commitments to nuclear non-proliferation was key to making a decision on
Saturday possible, diplomats said.
"We remain committed to a voluntary, unilateral moratorium on nuclear
testing," Pranab Mukerjee said.
The draft trade exemption now includes a direct reference to the Indian
statement, a source close to the NSG said.
The trade waiver is an essential part of Washington's 2005 nuclear deal with
India. The window is narrowing for the Congress in Washington to approve the
bilateral agreement before the presidential elections in November.
"I remain optimistic that we can achieve our objective of achieving
consensus here," US Undersecretary of State John Rood told reporters who
had been waiting outside the meeting venue.
India cannot currently access global markets for its growing nuclear power
sectors, as it has not signed the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty.
The Nuclear Suppliers Group was formed in reaction to India's first atomic
weapons test in 1974, which it conducted using foreign nuclear technology, dpa reported.