New Delhi, May 11: External affairs minister SM Krishna will fly to Kazakhstan on Tuesday for talks with key leaders of the Central Asian Republic. On top of the agenda will be to finalise discussions on an inter-governmental agreement on nuclear cooperation.
India is planning to build small and medium sized nuclear power stations in Kazakhstan once the inter-governmental agreement is finalised.
An official of the Nuclear Power Corporation will be part of the minister’s delegation. A team of top Indian businessmen are accompanying Krishna hoping to benefit from a multi-billion dollar industrialisation project chalked out by Kazakhstan.
Officials, however, made it clear that the process would take its time as there are some loose ends which need to be tied up to prepare a deal, very much in line with the one signed with Russia.
Building nuclear power stations in smaller countries in the neighbourhood is one of the benefits of the India-US civil nuclear agreement and the exemptions granted to India by the Nuclear Suppliers Groups.
When Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayer was in Delhi in January 2009, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding to export uranium to India.
India is also looking for business opportunities for its private sector, which falls in line with the recent efforts of president Nazarbayer to promote the quick industrial policy.
The policy seeks to set up roughly about 170 new projects, which is a lucrative opening for India Inc.
—Agencies