Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe bow to national flags as they review an honour guard before their meeting at Abe’s official residence in Tokyo on Friday. Modi is on a three-day visit to Japan. AFP

Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 11

After almost six years of intense negotiations, India and Japan today signed a landmark civil nuclear cooperation deal which will allow Japan to sell nuclear technology, fuel and equipment to India. The deal was signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan. When Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited India in December last, a broad framework agreement was reached between the two countries but several technical issues remained. Today, the deal was finally inked, marking India’s emergence in the region as a counterweight to China. The only caution remains a clause in the agreement allowing Japan to terminate the pact if India conducted a nuclear test.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)There had been major resistance within Japan to the deal primarily on two counts. One, Japan is the only country to have suffered a nuclear attack and the public was wary of exporting any such technology. Two, the fact that India has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was a stumbling block. The deal bestows on India the unique honour of being the first non-NPT nation to have a nuclear deal with Japan. The deal will give a boost to the 2008 India-US nuclear pact under which US-based Westinghouse Electric, which is owned by Japan’s Toshiba Corp, is in talks for building six nuclear plants in India. Japan confirmed its support to India for its entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group. “I wish to thank Prime Minister Abe for the support extended for India’s membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group,” Modi said. 

What the agreement means

• The deal will give a boost to the 2008 India-US nuclear pact under which US-based Westinghouse Electric, owned by Japan’s Toshiba Corp, is in talks for building six nuclear plants in India

Terrorism condemned by Modi, Abe

• A joint statement issued at the conclusion of the Modi-Abe talks called for stopping ‘cross-border’ movement of terrorists
• India and Japan called upon Pakistan to bring perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attack and the 2016 Pathankot attack to justice
• They sought implemention of UNSC Resolution 1267 while referring to India’s bid to get JeM chief Masood Azhar designated as a ‘global terrorist’
• China, a veto-wielding permanent member of Security Council, had blocked India’s move to put a ban on Azha