THE “Indian dream” and the American dream can no longer be seen as mutually exclusive. What sort of dream are we talking about? Here’s a clue: the sentiment was expressed by Mohamed ElBaradei of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at a meeting of the World Nuclear Association (WNA) in London last week.
It’s the dream of bringing India back from the nuclear trading wilderness after 30 years. Given that India refuses to sign the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), what sort of message does this give out to other countries, such as North Korea, Iran and Pakistan?
India conducted a nuclear test in 1998 and declared that it possessed nuclear weapons, which signing the treaty would force it to relinquish. But in December 2006, both Houses of the US Congress took a step towards overturning the ban on nuclear trading with India by approving the wording of an amendment – the first since the act was devised.
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However, before the amendment can become law, India must first be inducted into the Nuclear Suppliers Group in November, says Ron Somers, president of the US-India Business Council at the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington DC. For that international agreement is needed. Somers attended the WNA meeting to bolster support for India.
For Somers, the commercial benefits are clear. “We’re talking about uniting the two largest free-market economies in the world,” he says. India needs nuclear power to meet the energy demands of its 1.2 billion-strong population, he says, while US businesses should increasingly invest in India to capitalise on the human resources of a nation where 54 per cent of people are under the age of 25.
“India needs nuclear power to meet its energy demands, while US businesses should capitalise on India’s human resources”
Nevertheless, concerns were raised at the meeting. If India’s nuclear weapons are overlooked, this may encourage other countries to flout the treaty. Somers points out that some countries are doing that anyway and that with nuclear neighbours, it is unrealistic to expect India ever to sign up to the NPT. “What are you going to do? Put your head in the sand and leave India in nuclear isolation?” he says.
Despite the fears, international support for India is growing. At the meeting Michael Angwin of the Australian Uranium Association in Melbourne announced plans to export uranium to India “barring hiccups”, while earlier this month a think tank called the Japan Forum on International Relations recommended that Japan strengthen nuclear ties with India. Meanwhile, India has agreed to assign 14 of its 22 reactors for civilian, rather than military, purposes and to allow the IAEA to inspect these sites.
But does making an exception to the NPT for India undermine the whole treaty? “That’s a whole other question,” says Somers.
