New Delhi
13 March 2006
As the Bush administration engages the United States Congress
for adjusting the US laws ahead of the meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group in May,
Finland has said it is too early to comment on the likelihood of India being allowed
access to nuclear technology and materials.
"We have not taken any formal position [yet. We will do so only after] thoroughly
considering the implications of [the India-US nuclear deal]," Finnish Ambassador to India
Asko Numminen told this newspaper on the sidelines of a meeting chaired by visiting
Finland Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen.
"We are going to discuss [this matter] in international fora ... we are active in the IAEA
(International Atomic Energy Agency) and the EU," the envoy added. Finland is a member
of the 45-nation NSG. It will take over the rotating presidency of the European Union in
June/July this year.
The Finnish response comes barely days after Australian Prime Minister John Howard
said his government remained non-committal on sales of uranium to India.
France and Finland are the only European countries to have embarked on a programme
of nuclear plant construction. Nuclear power is expected to dominate the first G8 energy
summit in Moscow next week. The G8 comprises Britain, Canada, France, Germany,
Italy, Japan, Russia and the US.
Finland is constructing Europe's first nuclear reactor for more than a decade at its
Olkiluoto complex. Mr Ole Johansson, president and CEO of Wartsila Corporation and
head of the Finnish business delegation currently visiting India, said nuclear energy
constitutes one-third of his country's energy mix.
For now, Mr Johansson said Wartsila and other Finnish companies would rather focus
on conventional energy resources because nuclear energy has a long gestation period
and it was still being negotiated by the US Congress. He, however, evinced interest in
the India-Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline.
"We will be interested in [setting up] pumping stations for gas compression," he said.
"We will be focussing on thermal power projects by burning oil, gas or bio-fuels. There is
a great potential for India in bio-fuels and we discussed this with the petroleum minister
(Murli Deora) this morning," he added.
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