Press Release No. 90

20 December 2006

Excerpts of PM's intervention in Lok Sabha (Lower House of the Indian Parliament) during discussion

On India-US Civil Nuclear Cooperation

[18 December 2006]

…Another important stage in this process has now been reached with the passage of legislation by the US Congress, with substantial bi-partisan support, in pursuance of the undertakings of the United States in the July Joint Statement that it would seek to adjust US laws and policies to achieve full civil nuclear cooperation with India. This Act is necessary for the United States to resume civil nuclear cooperation with India and also an important step leading to the lifting of international restrictions currently applicable to India.
 

We appreciate the efforts made by the US Administration and the bipartisan support in the US Congress, which has led to the passage of this legislation. This law has several positive features, which take into account our concerns. However, there are areas, which continue to be a cause for concern, and we will need to discuss them with the US Administration before the bilateral cooperation agreement can be finalized. The House can rest assured that in these negotiations, the commitments and assurances I gave to Parliament on August 17 2006 will constitute our guidelines.

The passage of the legislation enables the US Administration to follow up on another commitment made by the US in the July 18 Joint Statement viz, approaching its international partners, particularly in the NSG, to lift restrictions to allow full civil nuclear cooperation with India. We will seek to ensure that the NSG takes action to permit full civil nuclear cooperation with India in terms acceptable to us.

India is interested in long term, stable and predictable cooperation in civil nuclear energy with the United States and other members of the international community. Such a partnership with the United States can be facilitated if the legislation- its scope, content and implementation - were to strengthen the hands of the Administration to fulfill all the commitments agreed to by the US in the July 18 Joint Statement and the March 2 Separation Plan. On the other hand, this objective can be hindered by extraneous issues that were not part of the understandings in the July 18 Joint Statement and the March 2 Separation Plan. India will find it difficult to and cannot accept any such conditions beyond those already agreed in the understandings with the US.

As I have mentioned earlier also, our strategic programme was outside the discussions that led to the July 18 Joint Statement. There was no discussion on details of our strategic programme, which culminated in the March 2 understandings. Our strategic programme will not be subject to external scrutiny or interference of any kind. Safeguarding the autonomy of the strategic programme is a solemn duty of this Government. I repeat, nothing will be done that will compromise, dilute or cast a shadow on India's full autonomy in the management of its security and national interests. I repeat, no legislation of a foreign country can take away from us our sovereign right to conduct foreign relations, be it with Iran, or with other countries, solely in accordance with our national interests.

The US for its part has assured us that the legislation as passed by Congress will enable it to fulfill all its commitments vis-à-vis the July 18 Joint Statement and the March 2 Separation Plan. Clarifications are necessary, because there are areas which cause us concern, and will be sought from the US on how this will be done.

International negotiations are a complex process. We recognize that the outcomes are not entirely predictable nor always under our control but compromises, if any, cannot violate basic principles. I believe that any calculation of risks and opportunities will need to be done in a reasoned and transparent manner but evidently we cannot agree to anything that is not consistent with our vital national interests, including protecting the autonomy of our strategic programme, maintaining the integrity of the three-stage nuclear power programme and safeguarding indigenous R&D, including our Fast Breeder Programme. This will be the underlying approach when we negotiate the bilateral 123 Agreement, which will form the basis of our civil nuclear cooperation.

Sir, looking back, though the July 18 Joint Statement and the March 2 Separation Plan involved complex issues, I believe, we were able to achieve outcomes that in no way compromised India's interests. In fact there was wide public support when the issues were fully explained. This has been made possible using innovative and creative approaches to these complex issues. There is I believe a large measure of support within the country in favour of breaking out of our isolation, and in joining the international mainstream in a manner that secures for India full civil nuclear cooperation with the international community while protecting our strategic programme and maintaining the integrity of our three stage programme and indigenous R&D. This is the objective set out as far as the bilateral nuclear agreement is concerned.

Parliament has my solemn assurance that while the government will make every effort so that the vision of the July Statement becomes a reality, this objective will not be achieved at the cost of our vital national interests. Clearly, difficult negotiations lie ahead. Our broad approach and expectations of these negotiations are a matter of public record. My August 17th 2006 Statement, dwelt at length on how India perceives the implementation of the July Statement and the March Separation Plan. I stand by the commitments that I have made to Parliament.

Suo-Moto Statement By the Minister Of External Affairs, Shri Pranab Mukherjee

On ‘Indo-US Civil Nuclear Co-Operation’ in Lok Sabha (Lower House of the Indian Parliament)

[December 12, 2006]

I rise to share with this august House recent developments pertaining to the implementation of the understanding between India and the United States on the resumption of civilian nuclear energy cooperation. A reconciled Bill for this purpose was passed by the US House of Representatives and the Senate on 8/9 December 2006.

This nuclear understanding with the USA is significant from the larger perspective of our energy security. Energy has become a critical constraint to expanding our economic growth and development. We have to expand our generating capacity in every form of energy. Presently, nuclear energy provides less than 3% of our energy mix. Our current estimates envisage nuclear power generation of 30,000 MWe by 2022 and 63,000 MWe by 2032. The absence of international cooperation seriously constrains us from reaching these nuclear energy targets. India is today seriously pursuing several energy options including clean coal technologies, exploitation of coal bed methane and gas hydrates, wind as well as solar power. India can today expand its access to other forms of energy, relying on market mechanisms to do so. Our access to nuclear energy is impeded by an international regime and requires a political solution consistent with our national security and energy requirements.

The US Administration committed in the 18th July Joint Statement to adjust its laws that otherwise prohibited civil nuclear energy cooperation with India. Although the passage of any legislation is an internal matter of that country on which we would not otherwise comment, this legislation is an enabling measure necessary for civil nuclear energy cooperation to be worked out between India and the United States. Keeping that in mind, the enactment of waivers from certain provisions of the US Atomic Energy Act, which allows the United States to cooperate with India in civilian nuclear energy despite our not accepting full scope safeguards and despite maintaining a strategic programme, is significant. We recognize the initiative that President Bush has taken to make these exceptions for India possible. We also note the bipartisan support that this initiative has garnered in the US Congress.

The legislation that has been passed is an enabling measure that will now allow US negotiators to discuss and conclude with India a bilateral cooperation agreement, which is popularly known as a 123 Agreement. Such an agreement is a pre-requisite for nuclear cooperation and trade with the United States.

In parallel, we are engaging the International Atomic Energy Agency with the intention of negotiating and concluding an India-specific Safeguards Agreement and an Additional Protocol. At a broader level, we have already been discussing with member States of the Nuclear Energy Suppliers’ Group (NSG) the need for an adjustment of their guidelines to permit transfers to India. We have briefed them collectively on various issues of mutual interest and look forward to their taking a decision on the adjustment of NSG guidelines at an appropriate time. We should bear in mind that while every stage of this process is important, the test of this process is for India to secure full civil nuclear cooperation with the international community while protecting our strategic programme and maintaining the integrity of our three-stage nuclear programme and indigenous research and development.

I would like to inform the House that the US Administration has categorically assured us that this legislation enables the United States to fulfill all of the commitments it made to India in the July 18 and March 2 Joint Statements and that this legislation explicitly authorizes civil nuclear cooperation with India in a manner fully consistent with those two Statements. We fully expect the July 18 Statement and the March 2 Separation Plan to be reflected in the text of the 123 Agreement.

In regard to the principles and concerns that guide our approach to the nuclear understanding, the Prime Minister had set forth the Government’s position when he spoke to the Parliament on August 17, 2006. These principles and concerns continue to remain the basis for our engagement with the United States and the international community on the tasks ahead. I would also like to share with the House that the Government has taken note of certain extraneous and prescriptive provisions in the legislation. We have always maintained that the conduct of foreign policy determined solely by our national interests is our sovereign right. We have also been clear that our strategic programme remains outside the purview of these discussions. We will not allow external scrutiny of or interference with the strategic programme.

Eventually, our objective is that technology denial regimes that have targeted India for so many decades must be dismantled so that our national development is unimpeded. We are also committed to creating a climate where our scientists and technologists can participate in and contribute to international initiative in various fields. We have taken a big step towards that goal and I am sure that the House would continue to support us in that endeavour.

Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi

12 December 2006