India on Saturday got an assurance from Japan about the proposed civilian nuclear cooperation agreement and both sides are now expected to move forward on the deal by the end of this year. There has been no movement on the negotiations on the India-Japan agreement since March this year,after the Fukushima mishap. Till then,three rounds of discussions had taken place on the deal,which is seen as crucial to Indias nuclear deals with US and French firms as both use components sourced from Japan. Technically,nuclear firms Areva,GE or Westinghouse cant do nuclear trade with India,unless an agreement with Japan is signed. External Affairs Minister S M Krishna,who held talks with his Japanese counterpart Koichiro Gemba in Tokyo on Saturday,said,I also discussed with Foreign Minister the status of civil nuclear cooperation between our countries.. We have had three rounds of negotiations on this subject. After my discussions today,I am optimistic on this score. Later,in an an unusual gesture of warmth,Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda received Krishna at his residence and termed India a great friend of Japan. He said he was looking forward to his visit to Delhi in December and spoke in favour of encouraging economic ties.
