New Delhi: Six years after they began negotiating, India and Japan finally signed a landmark nuclear agreement , opening the doors for India to commission nuclear reactors by global entities and possibly boosting India's claim for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
The deal is significant in view of the reservations of Japan, the only country to have been attacked by nuclear weapons, and for India's efforts to diversify the sources of equipment and technology it will need to boost nuclear power generation.
Referring to the agreement, the highlight of his visit to Japan, PM Narendra Modi said, "Today's signing of the agreement for cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear energy marks a historic step in our engagement to build a clean energy partnership." Abe added, "It (the agreement) is in line with Japan's ambition to create a world without nuclear weapons."
The completion of the nuclear deal comes as the NSG is meeting in Vienna to discuss, among other issues, if non-NPT (nuclear non-proliferation Treaty) countries like India can enter this exclusive grouping. The India-Japan deal, sources believe, will have an impact. Foreign ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted, "A landmark deal for a cleaner, greener world. PM Narendra Modi and PM Shinzo Abe witness exchange of the landmark civil nuclear agreement."
Abe noted, "This agreement is a legal framework that India will act responsibly in peaceful uses of nuclear energy and also in nonproliferation regime even though India is not a participant or signatory of NPT."
The deal will be operationalised after the Japanese Diet (parliament) ratifies the deal. Briefing journalists, foreign secretary S Jaishankar said the Japan nuclear deal had a number of similarities with the US deal.
However, while the US deal was done in four stages, the Japan pact compressed all four stages - a 123 agreement, reprocessing, administrative arrangements and NSG - into one. In addition, Jaishankar said, Japan's own concerns meant that nuclear safety and security received bigger space in this deal
Japan, like the US, has built in a clause that it would cease cooperation if India conducted nuclear tests. In his statement, Abe referred to both NPT and CTBT, but Jaishankar reaffirmed the Indian position that India abided by both these agreements even though it was not a signatory. India had taken on certain non-proliferation commitments in September 2008 while applying for the NSG waiver. India stood by these, and these have been the basis for its application to membership of the NSG.
The summit itself was a follow-up of the 2014-2015 summits, with Modi calling on Emperor Akihito and even meeting Yoshi ro Mori, former Japanese PM, whose visit to India in 2000 set off the new and improved India-Japan relationship.
Japan has now become a premier partner for India's modernization, particularly in the infrastructure sector. "As we embark on a transformation programme, many of these draw upon the experience of Japan," Jaishankar said.
Although India signed a nuclear deal with the US, it needed a similar deal with Japan to actually realise the deal. India commissioned six EPR reactors from Areva and another four from Toshiba-Westinghouse. Both companies use Japanese components which would not be forthcoming in the absence of a nuclear deal with Japan. In particular, Japan Steel Works is the global leader for manufacture of the reactor vessel, which is a core component.
The deal is significant in view of the reservations of Japan, the only country to have been attacked by nuclear weapons, and for India's efforts to diversify the sources of equipment and technology it will need to boost nuclear power generation.
Referring to the agreement, the highlight of his visit to Japan, PM Narendra Modi said, "Today's signing of the agreement for cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear energy marks a historic step in our engagement to build a clean energy partnership." Abe added, "It (the agreement) is in line with Japan's ambition to create a world without nuclear weapons."
The completion of the nuclear deal comes as the NSG is meeting in Vienna to discuss, among other issues, if non-NPT (nuclear non-proliferation Treaty) countries like India can enter this exclusive grouping. The India-Japan deal, sources believe, will have an impact. Foreign ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted, "A landmark deal for a cleaner, greener world. PM Narendra Modi and PM Shinzo Abe witness exchange of the landmark civil nuclear agreement."
Abe noted, "This agreement is a legal framework that India will act responsibly in peaceful uses of nuclear energy and also in nonproliferation regime even though India is not a participant or signatory of NPT."
The deal will be operationalised after the Japanese Diet (parliament) ratifies the deal. Briefing journalists, foreign secretary S Jaishankar said the Japan nuclear deal had a number of similarities with the US deal.
However, while the US deal was done in four stages, the Japan pact compressed all four stages - a 123 agreement, reprocessing, administrative arrangements and NSG - into one. In addition, Jaishankar said, Japan's own concerns meant that nuclear safety and security received bigger space in this deal
Japan, like the US, has built in a clause that it would cease cooperation if India conducted nuclear tests. In his statement, Abe referred to both NPT and CTBT, but Jaishankar reaffirmed the Indian position that India abided by both these agreements even though it was not a signatory. India had taken on certain non-proliferation commitments in September 2008 while applying for the NSG waiver. India stood by these, and these have been the basis for its application to membership of the NSG.
The summit itself was a follow-up of the 2014-2015 summits, with Modi calling on Emperor Akihito and even meeting Yoshi ro Mori, former Japanese PM, whose visit to India in 2000 set off the new and improved India-Japan relationship.
Japan has now become a premier partner for India's modernization, particularly in the infrastructure sector. "As we embark on a transformation programme, many of these draw upon the experience of Japan," Jaishankar said.
Although India signed a nuclear deal with the US, it needed a similar deal with Japan to actually realise the deal. India commissioned six EPR reactors from Areva and another four from Toshiba-Westinghouse. Both companies use Japanese components which would not be forthcoming in the absence of a nuclear deal with Japan. In particular, Japan Steel Works is the global leader for manufacture of the reactor vessel, which is a core component.