Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard says she wants her government to lift a ban on exporting uranium to India.

Ms. Gillard wrote in an opinion piece in The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper on Tuesday that she wants her Labor Party to change its policy towards India.

Australia exports uranium to several countries including the United States, China, and Japan, but India has been excluded because New Delhi has not signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

Ms. Gillard said exporting uranium to India makes economic sense and will strengthen relations between Australia and India.

She stressed that any sales to India must include guarantees that the uranium will only be used for power facilities and not for military purposes.

Australia holds some of the largest reserves of uranium in the world.