Pranab to meet Rice

NEW DELHI: External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee is in New York for the UN General Assembly session normally attended by heads of state.

Prime minister Manmohan Singh, recovering from a minor surgery, has sent his senior cabinet colleague to represent him.

Mukherjee will meet foreign ministers of P-5 countries and push India’s case at the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Except for China, all other members of the UN Security Council have pledged to support India at the 45-member NSG meeting.

However, the more significant part of Mukherjee’s trip will be his meeting with US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice in Washington.