External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid shakes hands with Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Bob Carr in New Delhi yesterday.
IANS/New Delhi
India and Australia will begin negotiations on a bilateral civil nuclear energy co-operation pact in March.
External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid announced the decision yesterday at a joint media interaction after talks with visiting Australian counterpart Bob Carr.
“Australian and Indian officials will be working to conclude the agreement which will enable the export of uranium from Australia to India,” Carr said.
“A sense of urgency and purpose will be there. We will move swiftly,” Khurshid said.
The two sides held the eighth round of their framework dialogue, an integral part of the strategic partnership, here and reviewed the entire gamut of their bilateral ties as well as regional and global issues during their talks.
Australia, the world’s third-largest exporter of uranium, had agreed to start negotiations on a civil nuclear deal with India during the visit of Prime Minister Julia Gillard to New Delhi last October.