India Voices Hopes of Joining Nuclear Suppliers Club by End of 2016

Sputnik News

15:30 19.06.2016(updated 16:26 19.06.2016)

India hopes to become member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) by the end of 2016, Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said Sunday.

NEW DELHI (Sputnik) – India submitted an application to join the NSG on May 12. Over the following weeks, the country gained the support of a number of countries, including the United States. However, after the NSG members' meeting in Vienna on June 9, reports have emerged claiming China is opposed to India's NSG membership bid at this stage.

"We are trying to ensure that India becomes a member of NSG by the end of this year. We are hoping that we will be able to convince China also. I am personally in contact with 23 nations, among them one or two have raised concerns but I think consensus is there," Swaraj said at press conference.

China is not opposing India's accession to NSG, it is concerned about the criteria procedure to the country's membership in the organization, she specified.

The NSG comprises 48 nuclear material-producing countries. The body is one of the chief tools for controlling the exports and proliferation of materials that could potentially be used in making weapons of mass destruction, as well as tackling the black market trade of nuclear technologies.

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