IAEA chief awaits word

India will have to make a request for talks on safeguards

MUMBAI:  The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency Mohammad El Baradei says he’s waiting for word from the Government of India. “They will have to make a request [for talks],” he said.

“This is a government decision. The Indian side will have to approach the IAEA whenever it is willing to talk. I have always had fruitful talks with the government of India,” the IAEA chief said in an interaction with the media on Tuesday.

El Baradei was speaking at the Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC) in Kharghar. He was there to attend the formal handover of Bhabhatron-II, a cancer therapy machine developed by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), to the IAEA. Bhabhatron-II will be handed over by the IAEA to Vietnam.

El Baradei met senior Indian officials including Anil Kakodkar, Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, and BARC chief Srikumar Banerjee. Considering the fissures between the Congress and the Left over the nuclear deal with the US, the fact that his itinerary included a visit to the BARC and meetings with top nuclear officials has set off speculation.