New Delhi
24 November 2005
Notwithstanding the reservations of certain
Scandinavian countries to the civil nuclear cooperation between India and
the United States and despite the uncertainties surrounding it, Norway
has said it will take an appropriate decision "based on reality" in the
Nuclear Suppliers Group.
Oslo, which has facilitated the Sri Lankan peace process, has also said
that the new President of the island nation, Mr Mahinda Rajapakse, and
the LTTE "will have to be given time" and that "Norway will be available
[to further the peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and the
LTTE] if parties so require."
A senior Norwegian official told this correspondent that Norway, which is a
member of the 44-member NSG and also member of the IAEA Board of
Governors for 2005-2006, was "seldom pessimistic" and Oslo would take
a "realistic" decision based on a certain set of considerations.
Given Oslo's support to New Delhi's candidacy for a permanent seat in
the United Nations Security Council, the official said India can expect
Norway to understand her energy needs but cautioned that fears of
weaponisation needed to be allayed and also that "consequences of
breakdown [like Chernobyl] are terrible."
The NSG controls the nuclear transfers for peaceful purposes to help
ensure that such transfers would not be diverted to unsafeguarded
nuclear fuel cycle or nuclear explosive activities. It established
guidelines in 1992 for transfers of nuclear-related dual-use equipment,
material and technology.
The official said Norway's stand against nuclear issues, civil or military,
would not come in the way of countries wanting to harness nuclear
energy. Norway was also helping India in hydropower through a joint
venture in Himachal Pradesh besides sharing expertise in high-yield
drilling.
"There is a continuous cooperation in oil and gas," the senior Norwegian
official said about the bilateral relations between India and Norway. On
the peace process in Sri Lanka after the election of Mr Mahinda
Rajapakse as president, the official said both sides -- government and
LTTE -- should be given "time to reflect".
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