The Under Secretary of State, the US points man for the negotiations is arriving in New Delhi on Wednesday and will be in town till Saturday.
NEW DELHI: The India-US civilian nuclear deal has entered the home stretch, with efforts now on in Washington to marry the Senate and House versions of the legislation into one consolidated bill expected be voted into law by the US Congress on Friday.
Significantly, Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns, the US points man for the negotiations is arriving in New Delhi on Wednesday and will be in town till Saturday. He will be at hand to explain the details of the legislation to India.
An Indian official jokingly said Burns will be here to celebrate the passing of the bill in the US Congress. If the bill sails through, foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon and Nicholas Burns will have a joint news conference.
Both the governments are now reasonably confident there will be no deal breaking amendments in the final stretch, but till the contents of the bill which will be put to vote are known, no one wants to comment. “The marriage will take time,” said an official. The final verdict will be late on Thursday, before it is placed for approval on Friday. But the mood in New Delhi is much lighter.
Even the normally pessimistic Left parties feel that the deal will be go through. Marxist member of Parliament, Sitaram Yechury, was confident, “Yes, the deal is coming through.”
Burns will have discussions with foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon and other Indian officials on the 123 bilateral agreement, which has to be finalised and signed by the two countries before India can break out of its nuclear isolation. This will have to be approved by the US Congress.
However even after the bilateral agreement is sealed and approved, it is a long haul. India still has to get the go ahead from the Nuclear Suppliers Group and sign a safeguard agreement with the IAEA before nuclear trade with the rest of the world can take place.
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