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US Ambassador Gregory L. Schulte remarks on nuclear cooperation with
India, 24 July 2008
Gregory L. Schulte, Ambassador, U.S. Permanent Representative to the
International Atomic Energy Ag
ency and the United Remarks to the India Safeguards Agreement: Moving
India Towards the Nonproliferation Mainstream London, England July 24,
2008.
In eight days, on August 1, the IAEA Board of Governors is scheduled
to meet in Vienna to consider a draft Safeguards Agreement for India.
The agreement was carefully negotiated, by the IAEA Secretariat, which
has recommended it for approval. It is a solid agreement, following an
approved IAEA safeguards approach. It deserves the Board's full endorsement.
The Safeguards Agreement is a key step in implementing the U.S.-India
Civil Nuclear Cooperation Initiative. This historic initiative was welcomed
by IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei as:“a milestone, timely
for ongoing efforts to consolidate the nonproliferation regime, combat
nuclear terrorism, and strengthen nuclear safety.”
Implementing the U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Cooperation Initiative and allowing
civil nuclear cooperation between India and interested countries in Europe
and elsewhere has three main benefits:
- bringing India into the nuclear nonproliferation mainstream;
- helping India meet its growing energy needs while protecting the
environment; and
- deepening the strategic partnership between our many countries and
India.
I would like to expand on each of the three benefits of the initiative,
then talk about the draft Safeguards Agreement itself. Bringing India
into the Nuclear Nonproliferation Mainstream is a key benefit of
the initiative. India has four operating nuclear power reactors under
IAEA safeguards today. Under the U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Cooperation
Initiative, India has committed to separate its military and civil activities
and submit its entire civil program to international inspection.
Under this plan, India will place under voluntarily safeguards a majority
of its existing and planned nuclear power reactors (14 of 22) and all
its future civil reactors.
Within a generation, it is estimated that nearly 90 percent of India's
reactors will be under IAEA safeguards. This means they will be dedicated
to peaceful uses and prohibited from contributing to nuclear weapons.
In addition to putting additional facilities under IAEA safeguards, India
has committed to:
• sign and adhere to an Additional Protocol with respect to its civil
nuclear facilities;
- create a robust national export control system that includes harmonization
and adherence to the Missile Technology Control Regime and Nuclear Suppliers
Group guidelines;
- refrain from transfers of enrichment and reprocessing technologies
to states that do not already possess them and support efforts to limit
their spread;
- work with the U.S. to conclude a multilateral Fissile Material Cutoff
Treaty; and
- continue its unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing.
By themselves, each of India’s commitments is significant. Collectively,
they will constitute a significant gain for nonproliferation. Helping
India meets its growing energy needs, while protecting the environment
is the second benefit of the initiative.
As a country with one-sixth of the world's population and a rapidly growing
economy, India has an enormous appetite for energy. Because it has
been constrained by sanctions, India's civil nuclear sector accounts today
for less than 3% of electricity generation. India's government aims
to increase India's nuclear power capacity to reach up to 25% of electricity
supply by mid century. Nuclear energy is clean energy. It does not
produce carbon dioxide or other "greenhouse" gases. Today the
vast majority of India's electricity is produced with coal. This
is a major reason why India is emerging as one of the world's largest
producers of greenhouse gases. According to one expert, India's
nuclear energy plans, by displacing coal, would avoid an estimated 130
million tons of carbon dioxide per year. Everyone worried about global
warming should be an ardent supporter of helping India meet its energy
requirements with clean, safeguarded, civil nuclear power.
Deepening the strategic partnership between many countries and India is
the third benefit of the initiative. The rise of a democratic and increasingly
prosperous India represents a singularly positive development in world
affairs. The United States, the European Union, and other like-minded
countries aim to develop an entirely new relationship with India, a relationship
founded on cooperation rather than denial. India is a stabilizing force
in the world. We share an abundance of political, economic, and
security interests. Our open societies face similar threats from terrorism
and organized crime. Our market-based economies embrace trade and commerce
as engines of prosperity. We share an attachment to democracy and
individual rights. And trade, education and travel are bringing our societies
together as never before.
Listen to India's Prime Minister Singh: "Nowhere else will you find
a country of India's diversity, of India's complexity, one billion people
trying to seek their social and economic salvation in the framework of
a democracy, in the framework of an open economy." Helping India
generate electricity for growth and development, while acknowledging its
commitments on safeguards and nonproliferation, is part of transforming
global relations with this large and vibrant democracy. Dr. ElBaradei
has observed that India is: "treated as a valued partner, a trusted
contributor to international peace and security. It is difficult to understand
the logic that could continue to carve out civil nuclear energy as the
single area of noncooperation."
We agree.
A Solid Safeguards Agreement
The draft Safeguards Agreement presented to the IAEA Board on July
9 was carefully negotiated by IAEA safeguards and legal experts following
the safeguards approach in INFCIRC/66.
This is the approved IAEA safeguards system appropriate for states like
India not under NPT full-scope safeguards. Under the draft agreement,
we would expect that safeguards on civil nuclear facilities in India would
resemble very closely those applied to other such facilities around the
world. The Secretariat recommends that the Board authorize the Director
General to sign the agreement. We hope that the Board will do so on August
1. The Board's approval is important but in many ways also routine.
The draft follows standard safeguards practice, and the Board has approved
over 170 other safeguards agreements. According to the IAEA Secretariat,
all were approved routinely, and all were approved by consensus. After
the Board's approval, the United States will work with the Nuclear Suppliers
Group to reach consensus on an India-specific exception that would allow
members to engage in civil nuclear cooperation with India. Cooperation
between the United States and India will then require a final approval
by the U.S. Congress.
Serving the Interests of India and the International Community
In conclusion, the course we are taking offers important benefits
to India and the world. It will bring India into the nuclear nonproliferation
mainstream. It will help India meet its growing energy needs while protecting
the environment. It will deepen the strategic partnerships between many
countries and India. Dr. ElBaradei said this well in welcoming the
U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Cooperation Initiative: "This agreement
is an important step towards satisfying India's growing need for energy,
including nuclear technology and fuel, as an engine for development. It
would also bring India closer as an important partner in the non-proliferation
regime. It would be a milestone, timely for ongoing efforts to consolidate
the non-proliferation regime, combat nuclear terrorism and strengthen
nuclear safety... This agreement would serve the interest of both India
and the international community."
Once again, we agree.
Source: US Department of State, www.state.gov.
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