NEW DELHI, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Wednesday hinted at a revival of civil nuclear talks with India and hoped "mutually acceptable results" will be achieved, reported local media.
"I am paying close attention to the progress of the agreement on peaceful use of nuclear energy. At the working level, discussions have proceeded. I welcome this progress," Noda said after delivering a lecture here on his vision of India-Japan relations in the 21st century, according to Indo-Asian News Service.
Noda, who arrived here on Tuesday for a two-day visit and attending the 6th India-Japan summit, held talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday after making the lecture organized by the Indian Council for World Affairs.
India and Japan have already held three rounds of civil nuclear negotiations, but the talks stalled after the Fukushima nuclear plant radiation disaster following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, fuelling security concerns.
Noda also said any nuclear deal with India will have to take into account non-proliferation obligations that are required of Japan's nuclear partners, while expressing his hope that India will maintain its moratorium on nuclear testing.
However, unlike his predecessors Noda did not make the signing of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) by India as a pre- requisite for a nuclear deal with India, according to local media reports.
The nuclear deal with Japan will enable India to implement its atomic deal with the United States as top American atomic equipment companies are partially owned by Japanese companies.
