Aussies are getting obnoxious. Or is it their HMV speaking? So what this means is NSG is not enough for them!
I get the feeling that the whole things was about going through the motions and not get to anything substantial. All those agreements are to give the Ausies more insight and info from Indian files to feed their GOAT. Its a one sided deal to look like two sided. What does India get that matters? Nicer treatment for future docs caught up with cousins antics?No uranium until India signs NPT: Australia
Neena Bhandari | Canberra
Australia's Labour Government will not lift its ban on uranium exports to India as long as the latter doesn't sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Foreign Minister Stephen Smith told Sky News on Monday: "We've had as a party (Labour) a long standing policy position of only exporting uranium to countries who are party to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. India for its own reasons is not a party to that."
"Australia's relations with India needs to be taken to a new level and as I have said in the last few days, a new relationship for a new century. Now uranium is just one small part of that," Smith said. At the fifth Australia-India Foreign Ministers Framework Dialogue held on Monday morning, Australian Foreign Minister and India's External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee underlined the strong bonds and enduring shared interests that underpin this bilateral relationship.
Smith and Mukherjee signed on Monday an Extradition Treaty and a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, underscoring the willingness of the two countries to collaborate and address criminal matters in a practical way. {must be fallout of the Hanif case.} In a joint statement, the Ministers reaffirmed the two Governments' commitment to taking bilateral links to a new, higher level. Smith announced he will be visiting India in September.
The Ministers reiterated their strong support for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. The two countries decided to establish regular chief of defence force level talks with the inaugural talks scheduled to take place in Australia in the near future. Both Ministers agreed to strengthen intelligence cooperation, including on counter-terrorism issues. They noted the need for practical cooperation in areas such as intelligence, law enforcement, border security and counter-terrorist financing and money laundering.
The Ministers discussed at length existing and new forms of cooperation in a wide range of areas, which exemplify the growing depth and breadth of this partnership.
-- IANS