India Saturday signed a civil nuclear agreement with Kazakhstan under which the uranium-rich Central Asian country will supply nuclear fuel to Indian atomic plants, dpa reported. The two countries signed four other agreements including an extradition treaty after delegation-level talks between Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and an Indian delegation led by Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi. Mukherjee represented India as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh underwent bypass surgery in a Delhi hospital. This is India's fourth nuclear cooperation pact with another country following agreements with France, the US and Russia last year. The memorandum of understanding between the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and KazAtomProm involves export of uranium for India's civil nuclear programme, which operates under International Atomic Energy Agency's safeguards. Kazakhstan has the world's second largest uranium reserves and is the leading exporter. Other deals signed Saturday included an agreement for cooperation on space research programmes, while oil majors ONGC Mittal Energy of India and National Co KazmunaiG (KMG) of Kazakhstan signed an agreement for exploration in the Satpayev block in the Caspian Sea. "These agreements are very important for the stature of our bilateral relations," Nazarbayev said after talks. The Kazakh leader arrived Friday on a four-day visit and will be the chief guest at India's Republic Day parade in New Delhi on Monday. India celebrates January 26 every year as Republic Day to commemorate the day it adopted its constitution in 1950.
