India and Japan are all set to sign the long-pending civil nuclear deal when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Japan on November 11 and 12 for the Annual Summit Meeting with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe.

Signing of the civil nuclear cooperation agreement will be a significant step towards India-Japan special strategic global partnership. In December 2015, both leaders had agreed to sign the deal following the conclusion of technical-level talks when Abe had last visited India.

This will be the first such agreement that Japan will be signing with a country that is not party to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT). As a result, India will be made to sign a disclaimer that it will use Japanese nuclear power plant technology only for civilian and not military purposes, a top official told BusinessLine .

India’s signing of the nuclear pact with Japan, which has itself a victim of atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, assumes substantial significance. This is because this will give a message to the world that Japan “trusts” India’s nuclear programme, the official said. Japan is one of the world leaders in nuclear technology. It is believed that with the signing of the pact, US-based nuclear giants Westinghouse Electric Corporation and GE Energy Inc. will find it easier to do business here as both the entities have Japanese investments. Under a vision statement — India and Japan Vision 2025: Special Strategic and Global Partnership Working Together for Peace and Prosperity of the Indo-Pacific Region and the World — that was agreed upon by both countries, Prime Minister Abe had stressed the importance of early entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) which should lead to nuclear disarmament. “We expect (Modi's) visit to advance the special strategic global partnership befitting a new era for Japan-India (relations) and further deepen the bonds and cooperative relationship between our countries,” Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda said in Tokyo. Both Modi and Abe had discussions on the pact last month during a meeting that was held on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Vientiane, Laos. Talks on the nuke deal began in June 2010. But it got delayed following the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant.

Defence and HSR India and Japan are also expected announce enhanced defence and security ties with a focus on maritime safety and secured sea lanes of communication. Japan had been asking India to take a position on China’s claims in the disputed areas of the South China Sea.

India will also be urging expediting the High Speed Railways (HSR) technologies in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route. Both sides are expected to soon float a special purpose vehicle for the project and are looking for Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

(With inputs from Mamuni Das)

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