India and the UN nuclear watchdog formally launched consultations on Wednesday that are needed to secure a landmark nuclear deal between New Delhi and Washington. International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei and the head of India's atomic energy commission, Anil Kakodkar, met at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, the agency said in a statement.
"Dr ElBaradei and Dr Kakodkar agreed to initiate consultations on an India-specific safeguards agreement. For this purpose, an Indian team will have meetings this week with the IAEA Secretariat in Vienna," the statement said.
The meeting - the first time the two men have met formally - was brief. Kakodkar and Indian ambassador Sheel Kant Sharma arrived at 11:00 am (1000 GMT) and left again around 40 minutes later without making any comment to reporters.
Before the US-India deal can go ahead, New Delhi must first negotiate an agreement allowing the UN nuclear watchdog to monitor its civilian nuclear reactors. It must also win approval of the so-called Nuclear Suppliers Group, which controls global atomic trade.
Kakodkar and ElBaradei met just a day before the IAEA's 35-member board was scheduled to sit down to a two-day meeting on a range of different topics, most importantly ElBaradei's latest report on Iran. There was no official indication as to how long the talks might last or the possible outcome. But diplomats say that it was likely to take some time, possibly weeks, for New Delhi and the IAEA to reach agreement on India-specific safeguards.
Earlier this year, it had been thought that the IAEA board might be able to approve such an accord at its November meeting. But fierce political wrangling in India over the deal, which even threatened to bring down the government, has set back any such expectations.
Under Indo-US deal, India, which is not party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, will separate its civilian and military programmes and place 14 of its 22 nuclear plants under international safeguards in return for civilian nuclear technology. In return, Washington has promised to amend the US Atomic Energy Act of 1954 which prevents the United States from trading nuclear technology with nations that have not signed up to the NPT.
The deal will enable India to retain its military programme, while still benefiting from international civilian nuclear commerce. However, the pact has come under fire, particularly at home where the Indian government's communist allies had threatened to bring down the government. On Friday, the leftist parties gave the green light to the government to initiate talks with the IAEA, thereby moving a step closer to implementing the deal.
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