[While the agreement between Australia and India for export of Australian uranium to India appears to be a sort of done deal, the much (more) trumpeted Japan-India agreement for supply of nuclear reactor(s) could prove as elusive as ever, even this time round. Never mind so much publicised personal rapport between Modi and Abe (one'd guess that while Modi speaks Hindi, Abe speaks Japanese and communicate via their official translators to build that fabled personal rapport), Modi, as it looks, is unlikely to be able to clinch that coveted deal. In such an event, he'll have to remain satisfied with some other consolation prizes.]
I/II. http://www.financialexpress.com/news/talks-today-india-and-japan-try-to-iron-out-nuclear-deal/1284340/0 Talks today, India and Japan try to iron out nuclear deal Shubhajit Roy <http://www.financialexpress.com/columnist/shubhajitroy/1> | Tokyo | Published: Sep 01 2014, 07:49 IST India for a US kind of n-pact, but nuclear history makes Japan wary. PM Narendra Modi is greeted by children upon his arrival at a school in Tokyo. (Reuters) PRIME Minister Narendra Modi flew into Tokyo on Sunday for crucial summit talks with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe after an overnight stay in Kyoto where he visited two ancient Buddhist temples. In a significant gesture, Abe accompanied him to these temples. Ahead of Monday's summit talks, Indian and Japanese negotiators were working till late on Sunday night to conclude the civilian nuclear deal. The Indian negotiators are staying at a hotel located near the Japanese Foreign Ministry and PM Abe's offices. Sources told The Indian Express that Delhi wants Tokyo to accept the "Indo-US nuclear deal template". As per that template, in case of a nuclear test, the two countries must hold consultations for a year and then decide on termination. However, the Japanese side is not very comfortable with this template. And that discomfort stems from Japan being the only country in the world to have been the victim of a nuclear attack. Given that history, the Abe government will find it politically difficult to justify an Indo-US kind of template. Besides, Japan Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida is a member of parliament from Hiroshima, the site of one of the two nuclear attacks on Japan. While he has publicly not spoken out against the deal, Kishida's constituency and supporters have strong sensitivities attached to a nuclear agreement with a country that has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. While officials were tightlipped on a breakthrough in the nuclear deal, they confirmed that apart from it, defence, infrastructure and trade will be high on the summit agenda on Monday. The two sides are not close to any agreement on the buying of US-2 amphibious planes, but a defence cooperation agreement on maritime security is likely. The joint working group on US-2 planes has met twice, and while the discussions are "progressing", the deal is quite a distance away. In fact, the head of the joint working group, Amitabh Kant, is part of the delegation, to re-affirm India's intention to buy these planes for relief and rescue operations. Apart from the bilateral talks with Abe, Modi is scheduled to meet Japanese Cabinet ministers in separate one-on-one meetings, including Kishida, Deputy PM and Finance Minister Taro Aso, Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry Toshimitsu Motegi, Minister for Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Akihiro Ohta, and Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera. On Sunday, on the second day the Kyoto leg of his trip, Modi visited two Buddhist temples -- Toji and Kinkakuji -- met Kyoto Mayor Daisaku Kadokawa and toured the Stem Cell Research Facility at Kyoto University. After prayers at the temples, Modi mingled with people and tourists. He thanked Abe for accompanying him to the Toji temple and spending time with him. The Japanese PM rarely greets a foreign leader outside the national capital. Abe, for his part, told Modi that this was only the second time that he had visited Toji, the last being during his student days. At Kinkakuji, Modi shook hands with tourists and pilgrims, pulled the ears of a child and posed for photographs with groups of people. Lauding Japan's deep historical ties with India, Abe tweeted, "Looking forward to seeing PM Modi again in Tokyo tomorrow." II. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/india-to-finalise-uranium-deal-with-australia-during-tony-abbots-visit/articleshow/41384660.cms India to finalise uranium deal with Australia during Tony Abbot's visit By Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury, ET Bureau | 1 Sep, 2014, 02.11AM IST NEW DELHI: While the government is still negotiating to narrow differences to clinch a civil nuclear deal with Japan, the big ticket item during the visit of Australian premier Tony Abbott to India on September 4-5 would be a landmark deal for supply of much needed uranium for India's nuclear reactors. Negotiations for the nuclear deal with Canberra have been among least troublesome for New Delhi. The culmination of these negotiations is expected to result in the historic deal during Abbott's visit, official sources said. Abbott will be the first PM that the Modi government will host for a standalone bilateral visit. Earlier Prime Ministers and Presidents of SAARC nations were in Delhi for the swearing in ceremony. The negotiations between the two sides have been on since 2012, after Labor Party reversed its decision to ban uranium sale to India as New Delhi has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Abbott's Conservative Party, however, had long favoured selling uranium to India. A deal will make India the first non-NPT signatory to receive the yellow cake from Australia. India that currently has 20 reactors hopes to increase its nuclear capacity to 63,000 MW by 2032 by adding nearly 30 reactors. Australia has the world's highest (31%) recoverable uranium resources. It is world's third-largest producer of uranium after Kazakhstan and India. Ahead of anticipated deal uranium rich states of Australia have explored offering mining licenses to Indian firms. Queensland has a significant uranium potential, estimated at 165.95 MT with a total uranium oxide content of 107,000 tonnes. Talking to ET, Parag Shirname, Trade Commissioner of Queensland in South Asia, said that his province was ready to cut down on any bureaucratic and environmental hurdles for supply for uranium to India. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
