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S Korea offers nuke reactors to India
India & South Korea Friendship
S Korea offers nuke reactors to India - The Times of IndiaNEW DELHI: Signalling an end to the Fukushima gloom that overhang the global nuclear sector, South Korea has offered to build nuclear reactors in India and sought land for the project. The move is significant on another count too - it indicates a renewed interest in the Indian nuclear power sector with the impending resolution of the Kudankulam crisis.
New Delhi, in turn, is likely to launch Korean satellites, adding South Korea to its clientele which includes Israel, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Algeria. Emerging from talks with president Lee Myung-bak in the presidential Blue House in Seoul, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said, "India has offered to launch Korean satellites on Indian space launch vehicles."
A joint statement said, "The two leaders proposed that the concerned agencies of both countries study the possible cooperation in future space activities, including launching a nano-satellite developed by Korean students on an Indian launch vehicle."
Korea, in many ways, rewrote nuclear history a few years ago by winning a contract to build reactors in the UAE, undercutting French giant Areva. Given the delays in working out a nuclear deal with Japan, which is holding up deals with France among others, some quarters in India feel Korean reactors could be the answer.
India has supported the South on the issue of North Korea, weighing in against Pyongyang's plans to launch an " application satellite".
In a departure from previous years, Posco barely found mention in the meeting between Manmohan Singh and South Korean president Lee Myung-bak, but the PM invited Korea to bid and participate in infrastructure projects across India.
In his remarks to Korean industry as well as in the joint statement, Singh said India planned to invest $1 trillion in infrastructure development for 2012-17. "Noting the enviable track record of Korean companies in successfully executing infrastructure projects all over the globe, PM invited them to actively participate in the construction projects for highways, ports, airports, metros and power plants being regularly launched in India... (He) pointed out that India followed a transparent and competitive bidding process, which was open to qualified companies from all countries," it said.
India and Korea agreed to increase the bilateral trade target to $40 billion by 2015. India and Korea also signed an agreement for simplifying visa procedures. This agreement will make travelling easier for business persons, the PM added.
Relegating Posco to the sidelines is surprising since the PM has been personally invested in the project billed as the largest FDI in India. But the Orissa government and Posco have been at odds over a continuing protest by around 700 people at the site. Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik is unwilling to adopt strong-arm tactics against the protesters, fearing another Nandigram.
Ties between Delhi and Seoul are on an upswing, and a trilateral with Japan is slated for later this year.
India has backed Seoul on North Korea even on the latest standoff. Prior to Singh leaving for Seoul, the external affairs ministry cautioned publicly that tensions should not be exacerbated in the region. The joint statement said, "Noting North Korea's announcement made on March 16, 2012, that it plans to launch the so-called 'application satellite', they urged that nothing should be done which increases tensions in the region and violates the relevant UN Security Council resolutions."
India & South Korea Friendship
