India-Japan nuclear power tech transfer talks

A senior Foreign Ministry official from India will visit Japan later this month to restart talks on nuclear energy cooperation.

Gautam Bambawale is in charge of East Asian Affairs and plans to visit Tokyo in the second half of November.

Japan and India planned to sign a civilian nuclear power agreement that allows Japan to provide nuclear technology to India. However, negotiations were suspended in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in March.

Bambawale said the scheduled visit is aimed at paving the way for the next round of talks.

India plans to build more nuclear power plants to support its economic growth. The country could become a lucrative market for Japan's nuclear industry.

However, some in Japan are opposed to any civilian nuclear deals with India, because the country is not a member of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.

Tuesday, November 01, 2011 11:53 +0900 (JST)