Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The speakers at a roundtable conference on Wednesday discussed the potential for civil nuclear cooperation between Pakistan and Russia.

Pakistan’s eligibility, application and entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) was debated. The roundtable on the ‘Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation: Nuclear Suppliers Group’ was organised by the Centre for Pakistan and Gulf Studies (CPGS).

It hosted the two member Russian delegation which was headed by the Centre for Energy and Security Studies (CENESS) Director Anton Khlopkov and Dmitry Konukhov at the Pakistan Institute of Parliamentary Services (PIPS).

CPGS President Senator Sehar Kamran, in her welcome remarks, stated that Pakistan has an advanced nuclear programme and possesses every quality to render it an invaluable addition to the group.

“Pakistan has the experience, expertise, credentials and immense untapped market potential, in addition to the manpower, infrastructure and ability necessary to supply NSG controlled items,” she said.

She said that Pakistan has also made modest contributions to IAEA’s activities by sharing its experience and providing services of experts in diverse technical areas such as nuclear radiation, transport and waste safety, nuclear security, application of nuclear technology in agriculture, medicine, industry and nuclear energy.