It may take a few more meetings between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and India's Narendra Modi before the two countries seal a civil nuclear agreement.
Modi will use Abe's visit next week to lobby Japan to join the list of countries India can rely on for nuclear technology or fuel to help bring reliable and clean power to its 1.3 billion people. Japan, the only country to suffer nuclear attacks, has refrained from sealing a deal because India has not yet joined the global Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
"Prime Minister Abe's visit will speed up the talks and I hope the deal can be signed when the two heads of state meet the next time," Sekhar Basu, secretary at the Department of Atomic Energy, said in an interview in New Delhi. "We're making very good progress, but I don't think we are in a position to sign a deal during this meeting," which starts Dec. 11.