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Scope of India, Kazakhstan contract for fresh uranium supply will be bigger than before

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In an interview with Kazakhstan Ambassador to India, Doulat Kuanyshev says scope of India, Kazakhstan contract for fresh uranium supply will be bigger than before. Edited excerpts:

Ambassador, India and Kazakhstan had signed civil nuclear agreement in 2009 for the supply of uranium to India. What is current status of the agreement?

In an interview with Kazakhstan Ambassador to IndiaDoulat Kuanyshev says scope of India, Kazakhstan contract for fresh uranium supply will be bigger than before. Edited excerpts:

Ambassador, India and Kazakhstan had signed civil nuclear agreement in 2009 for the supply of uranium to India. What is current status of the agreement?

Since the civil nuclear pact was signed between the two countries in 2009 when Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev was Chief Guest at India's Republic Day parade, Kazakhstan has supplied 3,500 tonnes of uranium to India. The scope of the new contract between the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited and Kazatomprom (Kazakh Nuclear company) could be bigger than the previous contracts. We are committed to supply uranium to India a close partner and we will continue to do so to meet India's energy for peaceful needs. It was not just an extension but "there will be a new element in it". However, I am not at liberty to give more details at this stage.

Kazakhstan has 12% of the world's uranium resources and an expanding mining sector, producing some 21,317 tonnes of uranium in 2012, and planning for further increase to 2018. In 2009 it became the world's leading uranium producer, with almost 28% of world production, then 33% in 2010, 36% in 2011 and 36.5% in 2012. It must be noted that Kazakhstan continued to negotiate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) over the so called host country agreement on the establishment in Ust-Kamenogorsk of an IAEA-controlled bank of low enriched uranium fuel.

PM Manmohan Singh's visit to Astana in April, 2011 provided the much needed impetus to bilateral relations. One of the most significant achievements of Dr. Singh's visit was the signing of the agreement for cooperation in peaceful uses of atomic energy. It provides a legal framework for cooperation in fuel supply, nuclear medicine, use of radiation technologies for health care including isotopes, reactor safety mechanism, exchange of scientific and research information, exploration and joint mining of uranium, design, construction and operation of nuclear power plants. The agreement needs to be viewed in the context of India's growing energy demands. According to India's 12th Five Year Plan, nuclear power will play a major role in meeting the country's energy needs. The country needs an additional 1,00,000 MW of power during the 12th Plan (2012-17).

Kazakshtan is an oil & gas rich country in Central Asia. But India has not so far gained from Kazakshtan's resources. How can Kazakhstan meet India's energy needs?

India has been invited to be part of the Eurasia project to develop oil and gas assets in the north Caspian Sea. ONGC Videsh Limited is keen to participate in it. A consortium will be in place in next few months for the project. Indian side proposal to establish joint working group to study the possibility of constructing the pipeline Shymkent (southern part of Kazakhstan)-border of India has received positive resonation in Kazakhstan.

Since 2010 an order book of Kazakhstan company KazStroyService (KSS) in India exceeded six hundred million USD. Another Kazakhstan JSC Azimut Energy Services signed the contract with Cairn India Ltd to work on implementation of seismic survey in Rajasthan. Kazakhstan and India were moving forward when India lost the stake of ConocoPhillip to India's ONGC Videsh in a Kazakh oil field, the envoy said. Both countries are now in search of real ways to improve economic interaction.




How does India and Kazakhstan want to expand business and investment ties?


One of the biggest handicaps to expand Kazakh-India bilateral trade is lack of direct connectivity. However, we are excited with the Iran's interim nuclear deal. This will enable smooth implementation of North-South International Corridor through Iran. India is a signatory to this project. This is a multi-modal multi-routes project. This railway line would enable Indian goods to come to Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries faster, as opposed to the present route via Russia or China. The railway line to Iran that will be connected to one of its port which then can be lined to India. Two countries are encouraging big B-to-B contacts.

Bilateral trade between India and Kazakhstan increased from USD 120 million in 2005 to USD 210 million in 2006, an increase of about 75%. This showed a slight decline to USD 196 million in 2007. However, the two way commercial exchanges grew and remained steady at around USD 300 million over the last few years rising to around USD 500 million last year. This was announced by the Kazakh Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov during his visit to New Delhi in March, 2013. The intervening economic crisis had kept the interaction subdued and significantly below par. Last few years have seen exports by Kazakhstan to India increase in a dynamic manner while those from India to Kazakhstan have struggled and slipped from their earlier levels.

Scope of India, Kazakhstan contract for fresh uranium supply will be bigger than before: Doulat Kuanyshev - Economic Times
 
Pulling off the NSG waiver for commercial Uranium was the greatest accomplishment of the UPA govt in 8 years. (Cynics might say it is their only accomplishment.) If that did not happen, we would have been facing crippling power shortages far worse than Pakistan, in a few years' time. With coal production falling so low due to scams and the consequent scrutiny, and with oil prices going sky high and rupee taking such a beating, we would not have had a source of power generation at all, had we not gotten Uranium and reactors. Suddenly every country is eager to sell nuclear reactors and fuel to India, while just five years back we were a pariah in the nuclear trade.
 
Pulling off the NSG waiver for commercial Uranium was the greatest accomplishment of the UPA govt in 8 years. (Cynics might say it is their only accomplishment.) If that did not happen, we would have been facing crippling power shortages far worse than Pakistan, in a few years' time. With coal production falling so low due to scams and the consequent scrutiny, and with oil prices going sky high and rupee taking such a beating, we would not have had a source of power generation at all, had we not gotten Uranium and reactors. Suddenly every country is eager to sell nuclear reactors and fuel to India, while just five years back we were a pariah in the nuclear trade.

Amen to that. Hope stage III of our nuclear program, ie commissioning thorium based reactors are on schedule. With the largest reserves of thorium in the world, we are looking at guaranteed energy security for the next few centuries if not more.
 
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