NEW DELHI, Dec 7: India said on Wednesday it has been accepted as a full partner in the elite International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project by consensus. The foreign ministry said the decision was taken at a meeting of the ITER partner countries held in Jeju in South Korea on Tuesday. ITER members include China, Japan, the European Union, South Korea, Russia and the United States.

“Negotiations on finalizing the ITER agreement are at an advanced stage and it is likely to be finalized shortly,” an Indian foreign ministry statement said.

India had expressed interest in participating in the project as a full partner on the basis of its “advanced scientific and technological base, its established record of R&D in fusion research as well as from the perspective of a country with enormous energy needs”, the statement said.