The deal was struck by former premier John Howard last August, shortly before his conservative government was ousted in elections by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's Labor Party.

Smith said he had told a visiting Indian envoy that the new government would not sell the nuclear fuel to any country that had not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

"It's a long standing commitment of the Australian Labor Party that we don't authorise the export of uranium to countries who are not parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty," he said.

"India is a nation state that is not a party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. I don't think there's any expectation in the international community that it will become a member."

Smith made the remarks at a news conference after talks in Perth with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's special envoy Shyam Saran, which he described as a "good and friendly meeting".

"The Australian government is very much looking forward to taking the relationship with India to an even better level," he said.

Howard had defended his government's decision to sell uranium to India, which has nuclear weapons, saying the deal was subject to strict guarantees that the fuel would be used for electricity generation only.

Howard, a strong supporter of US President George W. Bush, also noted that the sales would depend on the implementation of a landmark civilian nuclear deal between New Delhi and Washington.

The deal would allow India to buy civilian nuclear technology while possessing nuclear weapons, making it an exception under the NPT.

Australia has the world's largest known reserves of uranium and had been under pressure from the US to match a deal to sell uranium concentrate to China -- which has signed the NPT -- with an agreement to do the same for India.

However, with India's controversial nuclear pact with the United States now in limbo, Singh held out the possibility Tuesday of civilian nuclear cooperation with China.

On the last day of a visit to China, he said the world's two most populous nations -- who have a decades-long history of mistrust -- should work together to develop their nuclear energy programmes.

"India seeks international cooperation in the field of civilian nuclear energy, including with China," Singh said, noting such cooperation could help the two countries meet their skyrocketing energy needs.

"The rapid growth of India and China will lead to expanding demand for energy. We have no choice but to widen our options for energy availability and develop viable strategies for energy security," he said in a speech at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

India's deal for the US to provide nuclear fuel and technology has been on hold -- in part because of opposition within Singh's own administration.

China has also expressed reservations over the deal, citing concerns about the proliferation of nuclear materials.

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