B D Narayankar
Press Trust of India
Bangalore, Nov 15: Australian Prime Minister Julia
Gillard has written to her Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh
indicating that a proposal would be considered by her party to
review ban on uranium sale to India, Foreign Affairs Minister
Kevin Rudd said today.
Gillard had earlier said she will urge the Australian
Labour Party at next month's national conference to reverse a
ban on uranium exports to India and lifting it would be
another step forward in Australia's relationship with India.
Rudd said regardless of the policy on ban on sale of
uranium to India, Australia was conscious about India's
impeccable record in not proliferating nuclear weapons and
nuclear-related technologies.
"On one side of the argument, there are many passions who
are opposing uranium sale to India. On the other side, there
are deep concerns about strategic importance of India in the
region," Rudd told reporters on the sidelines of the ongoing
Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation
(IOR-ARC) here.
He also said Australia also recognises its relationship
with India. "Prime Minister Gillard and myself have overseen
the upgradation of our relationship with India in 2009," he
added.
External Affairs Minster S M Krishna had met Rudd in
Melbourne recently making a strong pitch to lift ban on
uranium sale to India insisting that nuclear power was
necessary for energy starved developing countries.
The Australian Labour Party opposes selling uranium to
any nation such as India, which is not a signatory to the
nuclear non-proliferation treaty. The coalition government,
however,supports exporting uranium to India.
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