WikiLeaks cable: NZ on US-India civil nuclear cooperation initiative

This is one of the diplomatic cables about New Zealand held by Wikileaks.
2 August, 2005
SUBJECT: NEW ZEALAND ON U.S.-INDIA CIVIL NUCLEAR COOPERATION INITIATIVE

This record is a partial extract of the original cable.
The full text of the original cable is not available.

Classified By: Political-Economic Counselor Katherine Hadda, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

1. (C) Pol-Econ Couns delivered reftel information to
Deborah Pankhurst, Deputy Director of the Disarmament
Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT).
Pankhurst said that MFAT had already received a fair amount
of information about the initiative from the New Zealand
Embassy in Washington, but she appreciated the additional
information. GNZ officials have not yet discussed the
initiative nor raised it with Ministers.

2. (C) Pankhurst's initial, unofficial reaction was that any
measure that safeguard reactors is a good thing. She
predicted that if GNZ had any concern it would be the
potential negative affect of the initiative on the
Non-Proliferation Treaty, as New Zealand remains a strong
advocate of that agreement. Pol-Econ Couns said that in
principle the United States supports the NPT as well, but she
hoped that GNZ would look closely at the substance of the
cooperation initiative, as India has basically agreed to
adhere to NPT principles. Pankhurst also asked about the
implications for Israel and North Korea; Pol-Econ Couns
answered her concerns as per reftel points.

Burnett