22 Jul (NucNet): The US will cooperate with Pakistan in civil nuclear energy, secretary of state Hillary Clinton has said.
Mrs Clinton’s remarks were made in a roundtable discussion with Pakistani journalists on 19 July 2010, during her visit to Islamabad.
In a transcript of the discussion provided by the US State Department, Mrs Clinton said: “In our dialogue with the Pakistani government, we have clearly said we will work with them on civil nuclear energy. It took years to do it with India. But we are committed to pursuing it and trying to overcome the obstacles that might stand in the way, because we think it is important to get as much of a varied source of energy all connected to the grid…”
However, in a separate press conference with Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Mrs Clinton said questions posed by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) about proposals for China to provide new reactor units to Pakistan must be answered.
Last month, the US said any agreement between China and Pakistan on building new units would need the agreement of the NSG because Pakistan had not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. China has said Pakistan is in the same position as India and has pointed out that the NSG agreed to adjust its guidelines in 2008 to allow full civil nuclear cooperation between India and the international community.
Pakistan has two nuclear units in commercial operation. Chasnupp, to the west of Lahore, is a pressurised water reactor and the Karachi nuclear power plant (known as Kanupp) is a pressurised heavy water reactor.
In 2003 Pakistan signed a memorandum of understanding with China for its help in the building of a second unit at Chasnupp.
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Proposed France-Pakistan Agreement To Include Civil Nuclear Cooperation (News in Brief No. 65, 26 May 2009)
India And Canada Sign Cooperation Agreement (News in Brief No. 114, 28 June 2010)
US Asks China For Details Of Pakistan Proposals (News in Brief No. 115, 29 June 2010)
