Wednesday, March 8 2006 13:42 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Chennai: Australia today(Mar 8,2006) stuck to its stand of non-supply of uranium to countries, including India, which have not signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

"There is no change in our policy adopted for the past 30 years," Australian Prime Minister John Howard who is on a two-day visit to the state said while addressing a gathering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) here.

He welcoming the nuclear agreement between India and the US and said, "We at official level in Australia are getting to together to know how this agreement will operate. We are watching it very closely."

The Australian PM said the recent agreement was still subject to certain procesess between the two countries.

"This is a very positive agreement. We welcome it. For the first time, Indian civil nuclear reactors would be opened to international inspection," he said.

Stating that Australia understood fully India's energy needs, the visiting leader said he had held discussions with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on the issue.

"But there is no change in our policy for the present," he said.