Adding a new dimension to their strategic ties, India and the UK have decided to start negotiations on a civil nuclear pact to facilitate the entry of British companies into the emerging atomic power sector here.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made the announcement today after delegation-level talks with visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron during which both sides reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations.
“We have also decided to commence negotiations on a bilateral civil nuclear agreement,” Singh said.
India has already signed civil nuclear pacts with a number of countries including the United States, France, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Mongolia and Canada.
The Prime Minister said he thanked Cameron for Britain’s support for India’s full membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and other multilateral export control regimes.
Cameron said Britain was in favour of transferring high-technology to India.
India has planned to attain a nuclear power capacity of 63,000 MW in 2032 against its current installed capacity of 4,780 MW and a number of countries have been vying to get a share of India’s lucrative atomic energy market.