Indian-American Vijay Sazawal appointed to US nuclear trade advisory panel

Indian-American Vijay Sazawal, a well-known atomic industry expert, has been appointed by US commerce secretary Gary Locke to the prestigious Civil Nuclear Trade Advisory Committee (CINTAC) to advise him on trade issues facing the key sector.

In the appointment letter to 64-year-old Srinagar-born Sazawal, Locke said that as a CINTAC member he will advise him "on trade issues facing the US civil nuclear industry for use by me and other department of commerce officials in our roles as members of the civil nuclear trade working group of the trade promotion coordinating committee."

"CINTAC will provide consensus advice on the development and administration of programmes and policies to expand US civil nuclear exports and strengthen the competitiveness of the industry," he said.

Sazawal, currently director of Government Programmes of US Enrichment Corporation (USEC) Inc, was involved in Track-2 discussions preceding the completion of the 123 agreement between India and the US.

"When the US and India, during the Bush administration, began to negotiate a civil nuclear agreement, my input and advice was sought by the US state department and the department of energy, and I was actually involved briefly in 'Track-2' discussions preceding the completion of the 123 agreement with India," Sazawal told PTI after the appointment.

"I have since participated in promotion of US nuclear export trade and given technical lectures to the legal community advising companies on nuclear export controls. Therefore, this appointment is a logical culmination of my efforts in the last few years to help US exports in civil nuclear trade to India and other major markets in the world."

For over three decades Sazawal has participated in the US civilian and defence nuclear programmes covering the entire nuclear fuel cycle and an array of reactor designs, including conventional and space-based reactors, and black programmes.

Sazawal was born and raised in Srinagar and came to the US in 1970 for doing his PhD.

As Director of programmes funded or supported by US federal government, he provides corporate programme oversight and coordination of various government projects within the company. He analyses the impact of federal budgets, policies and regulations on various USEC activities and interfaces with federal officials and members of the Congress, as necessary.

He is a member of the management team involved in the American Centrifuge Project (ACP), the leading initiative by USEC Inc., to build a state-of-the-art centrifuge nuclear enrichment plant based on American technology.

He is also a member of the Sigma Xi, the American Academy of Mechanics, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Nuclear Society. He has authored nine published technical papers and articles.

Sazawal, who was appointed to CINTAC for a two-year term, is a long time advocate of Kashmiri Pandits. He is a policy analyst and a commentator who specialises in local governance and intra-community issues affecting political dynamics within the Kashmir valley.

He has written extensively on the current political situation in Jammu and Kashmir, arguing for new and innovative approaches in understanding and resolving discontent in all communities and regions of the State.

Sazawal regularly interacts with various sections of the Kashmiri society, including local and national politicians, bureaucrats, journalists and security officials.

But most of all, he maintains contact with ordinary Kashmiris and especially religious minorities.

Sazawal has been invited by the US administration, Congress and major policy think tanks to address various aspects of the Kashmir problem. He is a frequent commentator on the Voice of America (VOA) Urdu programmes beamed to South Asia.

He is also a member of a non-governmental organisation accredited to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and frequently speaks in Geneva on changing political and human rights situation in Kashmir.

Sazawal is a founding member of the Indo-American Kashmir Forum (IAKF) and served twice as its president.

He is currently the international coordinator of IAKF, and its other overseas counterparts - the Indo-Canadian Kashmir Forum (ICKF) and the Indo-European Kashmir Forum (IEKF).