India, U.S. making fresh efforts for practical cooperation in civil nuclear energy sector

The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources described India as a very crucial partner for the U.S. in ensuring global energy security in view of serious disruptions in supplies of fossil fuel

In the face of growing global concerns over energy security triggered by the Ukraine conflict, India and the U.S. are giving a fresh look at exploring practical cooperation in the civil nuclear energy sector after failing to move forward since inking a historic agreement over 14 years back for partnership in the area.

Ways for bilateral cooperation in areas of clean energy, including nuclear commerce under the framework of the India-U.S. nuclear agreement of 2008, figured prominently in the talks U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey R Pyatt had with Indian interlocutors in Delhi on February 16 and 17.

In an exclusive interview to PTI, Mr. Pyatt described India as a very crucial partner for the U.S. in ensuring global energy security in view of serious disruptions in supplies of fossil fuel resulting from Russia's "brutal" invasion of Ukraine.

Mr. Pyatt said the U.S. supports Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "incredibly ambitious" energy transition goal of having 500 GW (gigawatt) of energy from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.

"I am very focused on how we can develop opportunities for future civil nuclear cooperation, recognising that if we are stuck at issues, we have to work them through, the famous liability question," he said.

"The business model of the civil nuclear industry is changing. In the US, we made a huge commitment to small and marginal reactors which could be particularly suitable to the Indian environment as well," he said without elaborating further.

Mr. Pyatt served at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi as Political Counselor from 2002 to 2006 and as Deputy Chief of Mission from 2006 to 2007, a period that saw intense negotiations between the two sides on the civil nuclear pact.