Over 100 United States lawmakers came together at a dinner to mark the first anniversary of the nuclear deal.
Over 100 US lawmakers came together at a dinner to mark the first anniversary of the N-deal
WASHINGTON, DC: The story goes that when President George Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were on their way out from a closed-door meeting in Washington, DC, on July 18, 2005, they had no idea what they were going to announce to the media. As it turned out, what Bush and Singh announced made headlines all over the world, and a year later, the US-India civilian nuclear agreement has not left the front pages of newspapers. It has not been easy ride for the Bush administration or the UPA government.
Yet, if there was any evidence needed to underscore the progress made by both countries to formalise the deal, it was presented at a dinner hosted by the Indian-American Friendship Council on July 18 on the first anniversary of the deal, where over 100 Congressmen from both sides of the aisle came together at Capitol Hill to express their support for the agreement.
The Bush administration’s chief negotiator Nicholas Burns was also present, doing what he has been doing for the last year — underscore the importance of the deal for the US in building a strategic and economic partnership in the region. Admittedly, his speech was similar to what he has been saying repeatedly: “The civilian nuclear agreement is in the best interests of the United States,” he said. “President Bush is taking this relationship to a new high, something that was initiated by President Clinton.”
He had reasons to say all this. If the opposition in India has been cautiously anti-nuke deal, the US Congress has been singing the proliferation agenda at a new crescendo. But there have been encouraging signs. Both the Foreign and International Relations Committees of both houses of Congress passed their version of the draft bill with overwhelming majority.
The House of Representatives is expected to table the Bill next week, with the Senate following soon after. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Richard Boucher said that he does not expect the Bill to become law in this session of the Congress, but, “ In the meantime, we’re working with the Nuclear Suppliers Group. India’s working with us on negotiating a bilateral agreement. India’s working with the IAEA to negotiate their safeguards agreements. It’s conceivable that all this could be done by the end of the year.”
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