Global Security Newswire

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he would like to see Washington assist his nation in achieving international recognition as a nuclear weapon state, the Press Trust of India reported today (see GSN, Nov. 25).

The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which India has yet to join, currently recognizes five nuclear weapon states: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

"That would be a very positive development from our point of view," Singh told CNN. "We are a nuclear weapons state, but we are a responsible nuclear power. We have an impeccable record of not having contributed to unauthorized proliferation of these weapons of mass destruction (Lalit Jha, Press Trust of India/Daily News & Analysis, Nov. 30).

U.S. President Barack Obama referred to India as a "nuclear power" in a speech last week.

"As nuclear powers, we can be full partners in preventing the spread of the world's most deadly weapons, securing loose nuclear materials from terrorists, and pursuing our shared vision of a world without nuclear weapons," Obama said in remarks welcoming Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the United States on Nov. 24, the Press Trust of India reported.

The remark was seen by multiple analysts as an acknowledgment by Washington of India as a nuclear state.

Washington and New Delhi are close to finalizing a nuclear civilian cooperation deal that was signed during the Bush administration. The agreement would provide India access to U.S. nuclear materials and technology in exchange for the country agreeing to open up its civilian nuclear industry to international inspections.

Meanwhile, Canada said that it had finished working out its own civilian nuclear agreement with India on Saturday, Canwest News Service reported.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office said the trade deal would permit Canadian companies to send and receive "controlled" uranium, nuclear technology and parts from India.

Some have objected to the agreement because of India's previous history of utilizing Canadian radiological materials for the development of nuclear arms. Critics have also questioned the security of the country's nuclear sites in the event of a terrorist attack (Chris Cobb, Canwest News Service/Canada.com, Nov. 29).

Though Harper reported on the conclusion of nuclear negotiations to the media, he chose not to share the details of the agreement until it received passage by the Canadian Parliament, Asian News International reported.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for both countries," Harper said on Saturday. "Canada is an integrated supporter of nuclear energy fuel and India, as an expanding economy, has great energy needs. We will be taking time to complete the ratification process."

Harper traveled to India last month where some nuclear deliberations took place.

"Prime Minister Harper had discussed [the nuclear deal] with us when he was in India and he has proven true to his words and the process has been completed in a short period of eleven days," Singh said. "This agreement augurs extremely well for the development of relations between our two countries" (Asian News International/Yahoo!News, Nov. 29).