 Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott will be touching down in Delhi today, Thursday, with the aim of strengthening a strategic partnership with India. During the visit, Mr Abbott is expected that he will be signing an agreement on nuclear safeguards that would pave the way for Australian companies to sell uranium to India. To discuss the significance of this deal, I'm joined by Rory Metcalf, an expert in nuclear arms control and India-Australian relations. He joins us now via webcam from Canberra. Mr Metcalf, thank you so much for joining us. Will this deal between the Indians and the Australians impact greatly on the Australian industry? I don't think that business or industry is really the primary issue here. I mean, there will be, assuming that actual commercial sales go forwards following this agreement, there will be some impact on the Australian uranium mining industry, which, although it's one of the biggest in the world, has some of the largest reserves in the world, it still has an enormous amount of development to do. But I think we're talking the hundreds of millions of dollars rather than the billions of dollars. There's a wider strategic context, I think, which is more important. You had Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visiting India earlier this week, but Japan and India were not able to conclude a nuclear technology agreement due to reports of some safeguard issues. Doesn't Australia have the same concerns here? Well, I think a lot of countries have been working to build, I think, normal nuclear commerce with India, really following the US-India nuclear deal back in 2008. And Japan and Australia are among many countries. Canada is another example. France, a lot of European countries that are in principle willing now to do nuclear commerce with India, but clearly there are differences from country to country about the precise safeguards they want. And I think an important distinction here is that Australia is looking to potentially export uranium to India, whereas Japan, it would have been much more about nuclear technology. And having said all of that, the statement released by Mr Modi and Mr Abe at the end of the visit a few days ago really makes it clear that they're still working towards that agreement. So it's been delayed, but I think it will come in time. But you personally, Mr Metcalf, what are your concerns about other countries having commercial deals with India? I think that there need to be very strong safeguards in place clearly for any nuclear commerce with India. But it shouldn't be dismissed out of hand. There was a time a few years ago where many countries, Australia included, simply said we will have no nuclear commerce with India because India hasn't signed the non-proliferation treaty. Now, there are all sorts of reasons for that. It's a complicated history, but there's been a broad recognition in the nuclear suppliers group, the group of exporting nations that they can, in principle, do business with India, provided there are safeguards in place. What we need to see is clarity about the separation of India's civilian and nuclear reactors. And I guess I assume, because I haven't seen the agreement that is reportedly going to be signed in Delhi this week, I assume that there's been sufficient progress on that issue. And of course, finally, there needs to be inspections, allowance for inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency to ensure that uranium is not being diverted to military uses. If those things can be done, then I think broadly countries like Australia can proceed to help provide India with uranium for energy production. Still many issues to be dealt with, Rory Medcaff from the Lowe Institute for International Policy in Canberra. Thanks so much for your insights.