G-20 summit: India, Australia seal civil nuclear pact
The deal would allow India to buy uranium from Australia to overcome energy shortages.
India on Sunday announced the conclusion of a civil nuclear agreement to buy uranium from Australia to increase conventional fuel supplies. The announcement came after bilateral talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull, on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Turkey.
Nuclear energy comprises only around 3% of India’s electricity generation. India has nuclear energy agreements with 11 countries at the moment, and imports uranium from France, Russia and Kazakhstan, according to a Hindustan Times report.
India and Australia signed a preliminary nuclear cooperation agreement in September 2014 after talks had begun in 2012 between the two countries over civil nuclear cooperation. Australia has about 40% of the world’s reserves of uranium.