Prime minister Manmohan Singh will meet US president George Bush on July 9 in Tokyo on the sidelines of the G-8 summit.
NEW DELHI: Prime minister Manmohan Singh will meet US president George Bush on July 9 in Tokyo on the sidelines of the G-8 summit. India is one of the outreach members of the G-8.
After getting the nod from the Samajwadi Party, Singh can tell Bush that India is now prepared to go ahead with the N-deal. The dithering and delaying by the government on the deal was becoming a major embarrassment for the PM.
With the Samajwadi Party on board, the Left no longer has the power to stop the government from going ahead with the safety agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The PM will get an opportunity to consult Bush on the time schedule for the deal. With the US elections slated for November and the Bush administration on its last leg, the time factor is pivotal.
During talks with Bush, Singh will be able to give the US president the exact date when India will send its team of officials to finalise the draft agreement with the IAEA. The next step for India will be the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). Luckily, the summit will give it the opportunity to lobby for a waiver with NSG members, as most countries attending the summit are NSG members. Besides Bush, the Indian PM will meet leaders of Russia, China, South Korea, South Africa and Brazil and ask all these countries to support India's case in the NSG.
President Bush is as eager as India that the deal goes through and wants this to be a legacy of his time in office. The Americans are getting impatient and have publicly said so several times. In fact, piling pressure on the government is leading US lawmaker Gary Ackerman, who met Singh on Friday.
Shyam Saran, the PMO's special envoy for climate change and the nuclear deal, will also accompany the delegation.
Foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon, while briefing reporters on the PM's visit on Friday, concentrated mainly on the G-8 agenda. "We want to go ahead with it as soon as we can," but refused to speculate on the timing. In reply to a question Menon said the US is committed to support India in the NSG. "We have been in touch with the NSG members."
g_seema@dnainda.net
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}