India ready to provide home for n-fuel bank: Menon

Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon on Saturday said India would be glad to provide a home for a nuclear fuel bank, which would supply fuel to nations interested in renewing their atomic energy programmes.

New Delhi, Apr 19 : Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon on Saturday said India would be glad to provide a home for a nuclear fuel bank, which would supply fuel to nations interested in renewing their atomic energy programmes.

"We run a full nuclear fuel cycle of our own, and we would be happy to participate in providing a home for a nuclear fuel bank," Menon said in an interactive session at the India Global Forum in New Delhi.

He also pointed out that discussions on the issue of setting up a nuclear fuel bank "were a long way away."

The concept of establishing an international nuclear fuel bank was put forth by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohammad ElBaradei last year.

It also seeks to set up an international uranium enrichment facility from where countries can source their nuclear fuel requirements to run atomic power plants.

When asked about the civil nuclear agreement with the US, Menon said: "We hope to bring the deal to "fruition" soon."

"We hope civil nuclear cooperation with the US and other countries will become possible soon ... we hope to bring it to fruition soon," he added.

Answering a question on the Iran issue, Menon said it was not in India's interest to have another nuclear weapons state in its neighbourhood, but added that Tehran had the right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy, subject to it meeting its international obligations.

ANI