India is hoping for a stronger backing from US President-elect on the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) membership and a host of other issues.
Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar is once again in the US, meeting stakeholders. Last month also, he had interacted with “very senior leaders” of the President-elect’s transition team on this issue.
Indications that India has been moving at a faster pace on the NSG front is evident from the anxiety in Islamabad.
On Wednesday, Pakistan alleged that “powerful countries were pressurising smaller nations to exempt India in the admission process to the NSG.”
Sources here said that efforts are currently on to fix an early meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump to bring clarity on different issues, which also includes the US support to the elite nuclear club. Earlier last month, India’s hopes of membership were dashed after the NSG meeting in Vienna ended inconclusively. Listing the progress so far, officials here said that they have succeeded in getting crucial support from Mexico, Britain, Russia, Canada, France, South Africa, Australia, Argentina and Brazil. Even Pakistan’s staunch ally, Turkey, has confirmed its commitment in backing India’s bid. One country, apart from China, which has not been so enthusiastic on India’s membership is New Zealand.
Last October, then New Zealand Prime Minister John Key stated that “his country would continue to contribute constructively to the process currently under way in the NSG to consider India’s membership.” Key stepped out of office on December 12, paving way for the new administration led by Bill English.
As far as the new US administration is concerned, New Delhi can take hope from the fact that Trump seems to be taking a favourable view on India.
In a bid to overcome Chinese reluctance, India had carried out a massive outreach. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj worked talked to her counterparts and the Foreign Secretary travelled to Beijing on June 16-17 and parked himself in Seoul to steer efforts in the last leg of deliberations. Senior Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) officials fanned out to different world capitals to explain India’s position to its NSG partners.
In his meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Modi raised the issue repeatedly to drive home the importance that India attached to this issue. But briefing reporters, Wang, who was the chief negotiator for China in the South Korea meet, said that the signing of the NPT, “is a must.Wang had also warned that “if exceptions are allowed here or there on NPT, the international non-proliferation regime will collapse altogether.”
Govt remains confident of NSG membership in 2017
Senior officials of the Obama administration had expressed optimism that India’s membership into the NSG would be done by this “year-end.” This looks unlikely now. However, government sources said that they will continue their efforts in 2017 exuding confidence that they have succeeded in addressing concerns of most of the countries, except China.
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