New Delhi
6 December 2005
India has been acknowledged as a full partner in
the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) fusion
energy project. The formal invitation was made at the final negotiation
meeting on the joint implementation agreement of ITER held in South
Korea.
"India has just been accepted as a full ITER partner, making in future the
same financial contribution as the United States, Japan, South Korea,
China and Russia, who together contribute just over half (6/11ths) to ITER,
the other partner being the construction host, Europe," sources said.
"This now means that half of humanity is now involved together in this
unique project," the sources observed. They said for industrial
contributions to ITER, the shares are slightly different; China, India, the
US, Russia and Korea contribute 1/11th each, Japan 2/11ths and EU
4/11ths.
The five-day meeting got underway on December 1 in Jeju, South Korea. It
was the last meeting of the subgroup working on all detailed issues of the
agreement, "in particular the procurement allocation between the future
ITER Members (including India), intellectual property rights, and staffing
and resource management regulations."
The United States has welcomed India's participation in the multi-billion
dollar project. In a statement, Washington said "[its] support was
instrumental in ensuring final agreement" at the meeting.
"President George pledged to consult other ITER members about India's
accession in the July 18 Joint Statement with Prime Minister Singh. The
ITER invitation also represents the first tangible and concrete step toward
greater cooperation between the US and India in the nuclear field, as
envisioned by President Bush in the July 18 Joint Statement," read the
statement.
The main ITER facility will be built in Cadarache, France, and all ITER
partners will participate in its construction, development and research.
ITER is described as the experimental step between the latest studies of
plasma physics and future electricity-producing fusion power plants.
On November 7, the fifth preparatory meeting held at the International
Atomic Energy Agency headquarters in Vienna had asked India to write to
the participating countries "officially requesting to join ITER".
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