India's Nuclear Agreement
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India, France likely to sign deal for nuclear fuel supply- Politics/Nation-News-The Economic Times
India, France likely to sign deal for nuclear fuel supply
22 Sep, 2008, 1903 hrs IST, PTI
KOLKATA: Having secured the NSG waiver, India is likely to sign bilateral agreements with France for supply of nuclear fuel during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Paris next week and a similar deal with Russia later this year, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Monday.
Singh, who left today on a 10-day trip to the US and France, is expected to firm up an agreement on civil nuclear energy cooperation after summit talks with President Nicholas Sarkozy in Paris on September 30.
"We are trying for bilateral agreements with several countries. Prime Minister may consider it when he visits France for the India-European Union Summit" next week, Mukherjee told a convention on 'Indo-US civil nuclear cooperation and its future impact' here.
A similar deal is also likely to be signed with Russia during President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to India in December this year.
Expressing hope that the US Congress would ratify the 123 Agreement by September 25, the minister said that although the ratification was pending, it would not prevent India from having bilateral agreements with other countries for supply of nuclear fuel.
"India specific safety agreement is just a passport to enter into nuclear trade with any country. We now need a visa," he said.
Responding to criticism that the 123 Agreement would compromise India's sovereignty, Mukherjee said "there is nothing in that agreement, nor in the India specific safeguards agreement, nor in the waiver by the NSG, that can compromise India's decision-making."
India, France likely to sign deal for nuclear fuel supply
22 Sep, 2008, 1903 hrs IST, PTI
KOLKATA: Having secured the NSG waiver, India is likely to sign bilateral agreements with France for supply of nuclear fuel during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Paris next week and a similar deal with Russia later this year, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Monday.
Singh, who left today on a 10-day trip to the US and France, is expected to firm up an agreement on civil nuclear energy cooperation after summit talks with President Nicholas Sarkozy in Paris on September 30.
"We are trying for bilateral agreements with several countries. Prime Minister may consider it when he visits France for the India-European Union Summit" next week, Mukherjee told a convention on 'Indo-US civil nuclear cooperation and its future impact' here.
A similar deal is also likely to be signed with Russia during President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to India in December this year.
Expressing hope that the US Congress would ratify the 123 Agreement by September 25, the minister said that although the ratification was pending, it would not prevent India from having bilateral agreements with other countries for supply of nuclear fuel.
"India specific safety agreement is just a passport to enter into nuclear trade with any country. We now need a visa," he said.
Responding to criticism that the 123 Agreement would compromise India's sovereignty, Mukherjee said "there is nothing in that agreement, nor in the India specific safeguards agreement, nor in the waiver by the NSG, that can compromise India's decision-making."
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http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080066337
NDTV Correspondent
Monday, September 22, 2008, (Paris, New Delhi)
According to latest reports India is hopeful but not certain that Indo-US nuclear deal will be done during PM's trip to the United States.
However, sources have told NDTV that Americans have assured India that they are trying to push nuke deal through in the next three days.
India is not going to renegotiate the 123 Agreement for operationalising the Indo-US civil nuclear deal even if it doesn't happen this time and the lame-duck session of US Congress now assured because of financial crisis.
Sources have further said that American financial meltdown could impact nuclear deal and the US Congress' preoccupation with economy may hasten which will slow down passage of N-deal.
Earlier, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left for France and the US on Monday; the developments will of course, be most keenly watched for whether the nuclear deal is finally inked or not.
US diplomats have told the Indian government that they are working overtime to push the deal through.
The Prime Minister will meet with US President George W Bush at the White House on the September 25, that's three days from now making it a very tight race to the finish line for the nuclear deal.
On the American assertion that fuel supply assurances are "political not legal", diplomatic sources say the understanding is that International law will kick in if the agreement is violated.
The Prime Minister could meet the two Presidential candidates - John McCain and Barack Obama - if schedules permit. He is expected to have telephonic conversations with both.
The other big highlight of the trip will be the meeting with Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari, the first direct contact between the two leaders.
NDTV Correspondent
Monday, September 22, 2008, (Paris, New Delhi)
According to latest reports India is hopeful but not certain that Indo-US nuclear deal will be done during PM's trip to the United States.
However, sources have told NDTV that Americans have assured India that they are trying to push nuke deal through in the next three days.
India is not going to renegotiate the 123 Agreement for operationalising the Indo-US civil nuclear deal even if it doesn't happen this time and the lame-duck session of US Congress now assured because of financial crisis.
Sources have further said that American financial meltdown could impact nuclear deal and the US Congress' preoccupation with economy may hasten which will slow down passage of N-deal.
Earlier, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left for France and the US on Monday; the developments will of course, be most keenly watched for whether the nuclear deal is finally inked or not.
US diplomats have told the Indian government that they are working overtime to push the deal through.
The Prime Minister will meet with US President George W Bush at the White House on the September 25, that's three days from now making it a very tight race to the finish line for the nuclear deal.
On the American assertion that fuel supply assurances are "political not legal", diplomatic sources say the understanding is that International law will kick in if the agreement is violated.
The Prime Minister could meet the two Presidential candidates - John McCain and Barack Obama - if schedules permit. He is expected to have telephonic conversations with both.
The other big highlight of the trip will be the meeting with Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari, the first direct contact between the two leaders.
Last edited:
nitesh
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N-deal in Senate tomorrow
Posted: Sep 22, 2008 at 2342 hrs IST
Updated: Sep 22, 2008 at 2342 hrs IST
With only five legislative days left before the Congress is scheduled to adjourn, the Indo-US nuclear deal is literally down to the wires, with the first real opportunity to push the initiative to Senate floor expected to arise on Tuesday.
The big question doing the rounds is whether the Bush Administration will be able to persuade the lawmakers to complete the process on time.
But what could be seen as a positive development for India, there are indications that given the economic stabilisation package that is being worked on, the Congress may not formally adjourn on September 26 but extend for a week till October 3.
No one in the administration or the Capitol Hill is willing to speculate on when or how the civilian nuclear initiative resolution is going to get the Congressional nod. But one of the first substantive moves could come on Tuesday at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee mark-up when lawmakers on the panel could decide the push the initiative to the Senate floor.
Some legislative aides and experts are taking the position that the civilian nuclear agreement may be attached to an omnibus 'continuing resolution' on appropriations.
One of the top items now meriting huge attention in the administration and in Congress is the massive financial bailout package to stabilise the markets. This package will out to be first hammered out between the House and the Senate and agreeable to the White House. Given the financial markets mess, indications are thatCongress may extend the session to October 3.
Posted: Sep 22, 2008 at 2342 hrs IST
Updated: Sep 22, 2008 at 2342 hrs IST
With only five legislative days left before the Congress is scheduled to adjourn, the Indo-US nuclear deal is literally down to the wires, with the first real opportunity to push the initiative to Senate floor expected to arise on Tuesday.
The big question doing the rounds is whether the Bush Administration will be able to persuade the lawmakers to complete the process on time.
But what could be seen as a positive development for India, there are indications that given the economic stabilisation package that is being worked on, the Congress may not formally adjourn on September 26 but extend for a week till October 3.
No one in the administration or the Capitol Hill is willing to speculate on when or how the civilian nuclear initiative resolution is going to get the Congressional nod. But one of the first substantive moves could come on Tuesday at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee mark-up when lawmakers on the panel could decide the push the initiative to the Senate floor.
Some legislative aides and experts are taking the position that the civilian nuclear agreement may be attached to an omnibus 'continuing resolution' on appropriations.
One of the top items now meriting huge attention in the administration and in Congress is the massive financial bailout package to stabilise the markets. This package will out to be first hammered out between the House and the Senate and agreeable to the White House. Given the financial markets mess, indications are thatCongress may extend the session to October 3.
nitesh
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FT.com / Columnists / Gideon Rachman - Welcome to the nuclear club, India
Welcome to the nuclear club, India
By Gideon Rachman
Published: September 22 2008 19:37 | Last updated: September 22 2008 19:37
Sitting in the front room of his suburban house in Delhi, Shri K. Subrahmanyam, the doyen of Indian strategic thinkers, sips some tea, coughs a little – and remembers the moment he decided that India must develop nuclear weapons. “It was on a visit to America in 1968,” he recalls. “I saw all the top strategic thinkers. Kissinger, who was still at Harvard at the time, Schelling; it was after that, that I decided we must have the bomb. As a matter of national survival.”
Some 40 years later, India is on the brink of becoming an accepted member of the nuclear-weapons club. Later this week Manmohan Singh, India’s courtly and academic prime minister, will meet President George W. Bush at the White House. This unlikely couple will shake hands and congratulate each other that the US-India nuclear deal has passed the Indian parliament and been accepted by the international Nuclear Suppliers Group. Eventual approval by the US Congress seems all but inevitable.
Under the deal, the US will drop its efforts to punish India for developing nuclear weapons – which were introduced after the country staged a nuclear test in 1974. India will now be able to buy nuclear material for civil use and – its critics fear – for the manufacture of more nuclear bombs.
This development has been greeted with horror by many experts on nuclear non-proliferation. Respectable opinion in the form of The New York Times, the FT and The Economist has condemned the deal. Jimmy Carter, the former US president, has said that it “puts the world at risk”.
But, in fact, it is the right decision.
The US-India nuclear deal is simply a recognition of reality. First, that India has nuclear weapons and is not going to give them up. Second, that India is going to be one of the great powers of the 21st century – and that it makes sense for the US and the west as a whole to move beyond a futile effort to sanction the country into renouncing the bomb.
It is, of course, unfortunate that nuclear weapons and great-power status should be so closely associated – but there is undoubtedly a link. The five countries that are allowed to possess nuclear weapons under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty also happen to be the five permanent veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council – the US, Britain, China, France and Russia.
All other signatories to the NPT are allowed only civil nuclear power. India has long refused to sign the treaty, in protest at this “nuclear apartheid”. Like Pakistan and Israel, it chose to develop nuclear weapons outside the framework of the NPT.
It would certainly have been preferable if India’s status as one of the world’s great powers had been recognised with permanent membership of the security council. Jaswant Singh, India’s foreign minister at the time of India’s 1998 nuclear tests, recalls with a laugh that Madeleine Albright, then the US secretary of state, asked him if India was “trying to blast its way into the P5? I said, ‘No, but we have surely woken you up’.” Indeed, one of the baffling and slightly alarming aspects of India’s development of nuclear weapons, is that its motives are not entirely clear. Is the main country to be deterred, Pakistan or China? Are India’s goals strategic or symbolic? Does India want the controls on nuclear trade lifted for commercial or military reasons?
America’s goals are similarly unclear. Was Mr Bush mainly motivated by a desire to build a strategic relationship with another of the world’s great democratic nations? Is this part of a US strategy to counter-balance the rise of China? What part has industrial lobbying played in the decision?
Even if you ascribe the most benign combination of motives to both parties, there are still plenty of critics who will argue that the deal is dangerous and hypocritical.
It is dangerous because it blows a hole in the nuclear non-proliferation regime, just as the world is struggling to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. And it is hypocritical for the US to insist on the strictest enforcement of the NPT when it comes to Iran, but to cut India a sweetheart deal.
The problem with the danger argument is that the NPT has hardly been an infallible barrier to nuclear proliferation. China, which has signed the treaty, has spread the technology to Pakistan. India, which has not signed the NPT, has not proliferated – and nor has Israel, another non-signatory.
Meanwhile, loopholes in the treaty allow countries such as Iran and North Korea to get right up to the edge of nuclear weapons – and then to withdraw from the treaty, if they so choose, and develop weapons legally.
As for hypocrisy – well, there is a lot of it about. But, in fact, the Indian and Iranian cases are legally different. India never signed the NPT. Iran did – and so it is obliged not to have a nuclear-weapons programme.
In any case, this is a question of political reality – as well as of law. India already has nuclear weapons and nothing short of a global disarmament treaty is likely to change that fact. Iran does not yet have the bomb, and it is important to try to prevent it from reaching that point. All the more so, since the nature of the Iranian and Indian governments is clearly very different. India is a status quo power and a settled and secular democracy; Iran is none of the above.
Mr Bush may be disappointed if he thinks that, after his nuclear favour to Mr Singh, India will be reliably pro-American from now onwards. But the US president is still doing the right thing.
gideon.rachman@ft.com
Post and read comments at Gideon Rachman’s blog
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
Welcome to the nuclear club, India
By Gideon Rachman
Published: September 22 2008 19:37 | Last updated: September 22 2008 19:37
Sitting in the front room of his suburban house in Delhi, Shri K. Subrahmanyam, the doyen of Indian strategic thinkers, sips some tea, coughs a little – and remembers the moment he decided that India must develop nuclear weapons. “It was on a visit to America in 1968,” he recalls. “I saw all the top strategic thinkers. Kissinger, who was still at Harvard at the time, Schelling; it was after that, that I decided we must have the bomb. As a matter of national survival.”
Some 40 years later, India is on the brink of becoming an accepted member of the nuclear-weapons club. Later this week Manmohan Singh, India’s courtly and academic prime minister, will meet President George W. Bush at the White House. This unlikely couple will shake hands and congratulate each other that the US-India nuclear deal has passed the Indian parliament and been accepted by the international Nuclear Suppliers Group. Eventual approval by the US Congress seems all but inevitable.
Under the deal, the US will drop its efforts to punish India for developing nuclear weapons – which were introduced after the country staged a nuclear test in 1974. India will now be able to buy nuclear material for civil use and – its critics fear – for the manufacture of more nuclear bombs.
This development has been greeted with horror by many experts on nuclear non-proliferation. Respectable opinion in the form of The New York Times, the FT and The Economist has condemned the deal. Jimmy Carter, the former US president, has said that it “puts the world at risk”.
But, in fact, it is the right decision.
The US-India nuclear deal is simply a recognition of reality. First, that India has nuclear weapons and is not going to give them up. Second, that India is going to be one of the great powers of the 21st century – and that it makes sense for the US and the west as a whole to move beyond a futile effort to sanction the country into renouncing the bomb.
It is, of course, unfortunate that nuclear weapons and great-power status should be so closely associated – but there is undoubtedly a link. The five countries that are allowed to possess nuclear weapons under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty also happen to be the five permanent veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council – the US, Britain, China, France and Russia.
All other signatories to the NPT are allowed only civil nuclear power. India has long refused to sign the treaty, in protest at this “nuclear apartheid”. Like Pakistan and Israel, it chose to develop nuclear weapons outside the framework of the NPT.
It would certainly have been preferable if India’s status as one of the world’s great powers had been recognised with permanent membership of the security council. Jaswant Singh, India’s foreign minister at the time of India’s 1998 nuclear tests, recalls with a laugh that Madeleine Albright, then the US secretary of state, asked him if India was “trying to blast its way into the P5? I said, ‘No, but we have surely woken you up’.” Indeed, one of the baffling and slightly alarming aspects of India’s development of nuclear weapons, is that its motives are not entirely clear. Is the main country to be deterred, Pakistan or China? Are India’s goals strategic or symbolic? Does India want the controls on nuclear trade lifted for commercial or military reasons?
America’s goals are similarly unclear. Was Mr Bush mainly motivated by a desire to build a strategic relationship with another of the world’s great democratic nations? Is this part of a US strategy to counter-balance the rise of China? What part has industrial lobbying played in the decision?
Even if you ascribe the most benign combination of motives to both parties, there are still plenty of critics who will argue that the deal is dangerous and hypocritical.
It is dangerous because it blows a hole in the nuclear non-proliferation regime, just as the world is struggling to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. And it is hypocritical for the US to insist on the strictest enforcement of the NPT when it comes to Iran, but to cut India a sweetheart deal.
The problem with the danger argument is that the NPT has hardly been an infallible barrier to nuclear proliferation. China, which has signed the treaty, has spread the technology to Pakistan. India, which has not signed the NPT, has not proliferated – and nor has Israel, another non-signatory.
Meanwhile, loopholes in the treaty allow countries such as Iran and North Korea to get right up to the edge of nuclear weapons – and then to withdraw from the treaty, if they so choose, and develop weapons legally.
As for hypocrisy – well, there is a lot of it about. But, in fact, the Indian and Iranian cases are legally different. India never signed the NPT. Iran did – and so it is obliged not to have a nuclear-weapons programme.
In any case, this is a question of political reality – as well as of law. India already has nuclear weapons and nothing short of a global disarmament treaty is likely to change that fact. Iran does not yet have the bomb, and it is important to try to prevent it from reaching that point. All the more so, since the nature of the Iranian and Indian governments is clearly very different. India is a status quo power and a settled and secular democracy; Iran is none of the above.
Mr Bush may be disappointed if he thinks that, after his nuclear favour to Mr Singh, India will be reliably pro-American from now onwards. But the US president is still doing the right thing.
gideon.rachman@ft.com
Post and read comments at Gideon Rachman’s blog
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
Goodperson
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Wrong thread.
nitesh
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sorry I corrected the link
nitesh
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Nuclear deal to create 250,000 American jobs
23 sept,IANS
Nuclear deal to create 250,000 American jobs-USA-World-The Times of India
WASHINGTON: The powerful US Chamber of Commerce has come out in strong support of the India-US civil nuclear deal, saying a modest share of the potential $150 billion business could support 250,000 high-tech American jobs.
Asking the US Congress to approve implementing the 123 Agreement before its term expires by the end of this year, the "world's largest business federation representing more than three million businesses of every size, sector and region" said the deal offered US companies a "tremendous opportunity".
The US administration too has touted the support of American business to win final Congress approval of the deal before US President George W Bush leaves office next January if not before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh comes to visit him at the White House on Sept 25.
But with the administration and the Congress haggling over a $700 billion Bush proposal to rescue the US financial system from its biggest crisis, the deal is unlikely to be done before the Manmohan Singh visit despite bipartisan support for it in both chambers.
"With India's 34-year nuclear isolation now history, the opportunity for US companies today is tremendous, with an expected 30,000 to 60,000 MWe of new nuclear generating capacity by 2030, representing a potential $150 billion of new investment," the chamber chairman R Bruce Josten said in a letter to the Congress.
"If US companies are allowed to compete, a modest share of that business could support 250,000 high-tech American jobs," he wrote. "Moreover, the nuclear business would be a fraction of the broader commercial gain across all sectors after this foundation, established of mutual trust and respect, is laid."
Noting that "French and Russian firms are already working in India, yet US firms cannot engage until Congressional approval of the 123 Agreement", Josten said, "It is crucial that Congress act".
"Congress has a historic opportunity to strengthen the growing partnership between the world's oldest and largest democracies and support thousands of US jobs in the process," he said, strongly urging "the House and Senate to approve this historic initiative before the close of the 110th Congress."
The US-India civil nuclear initiative will bring India into the international nuclear non-proliferation mainstream and enhance the safety of India's civil programme.
The initiative will also help to revitalise the US nuclear industry and create thousands of high-tech American jobs, the letter from the chamber said, noting India's civil nuclear programme commenced operation when its first reactor, made by General Electric, began producing nuclear power in 1961.
Congress affirmed India's worthiness as a partner in civil nuclear trade in December 2006 when it passed the Henry J Hyde United States India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act by overwhelming bipartisan margins, it noted.
Since then, sensitive issues relating to non-proliferation have been carefully considered and unanimously resolved by the 35 governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the 45 member nations of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the chamber said.
The Bush administration has also sought to sell the deal to US Congress advancing similar arguments in touting its non-proliferation, environmental and economic benefits that will accrue to both India and the US.
"The civil nuclear initiative enjoys strong support from US industry, and India's ambitious nuclear energy plans demonstrate why," Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at a hearing on the deal last week.
Indian officials indicate they plan to import at least eight new 1,000 MW power reactors by 2012 and additional reactors in the years ahead, he said. Preliminary private studies suggest that even just two of these reactor contracts for US firms would add 3,000-5,000 new direct jobs, and about 10,000-15,000 indirect jobs in the United States, Burns said.
Calling the panel's attention to the strong "commercial letter" of intent US had negotiated with India, "which has been strongly endorsed by key US firms", the official said the key benefits of the initiative were "compelling".
23 sept,IANS
Nuclear deal to create 250,000 American jobs-USA-World-The Times of India
WASHINGTON: The powerful US Chamber of Commerce has come out in strong support of the India-US civil nuclear deal, saying a modest share of the potential $150 billion business could support 250,000 high-tech American jobs.
Asking the US Congress to approve implementing the 123 Agreement before its term expires by the end of this year, the "world's largest business federation representing more than three million businesses of every size, sector and region" said the deal offered US companies a "tremendous opportunity".
The US administration too has touted the support of American business to win final Congress approval of the deal before US President George W Bush leaves office next January if not before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh comes to visit him at the White House on Sept 25.
But with the administration and the Congress haggling over a $700 billion Bush proposal to rescue the US financial system from its biggest crisis, the deal is unlikely to be done before the Manmohan Singh visit despite bipartisan support for it in both chambers.
"With India's 34-year nuclear isolation now history, the opportunity for US companies today is tremendous, with an expected 30,000 to 60,000 MWe of new nuclear generating capacity by 2030, representing a potential $150 billion of new investment," the chamber chairman R Bruce Josten said in a letter to the Congress.
"If US companies are allowed to compete, a modest share of that business could support 250,000 high-tech American jobs," he wrote. "Moreover, the nuclear business would be a fraction of the broader commercial gain across all sectors after this foundation, established of mutual trust and respect, is laid."
Noting that "French and Russian firms are already working in India, yet US firms cannot engage until Congressional approval of the 123 Agreement", Josten said, "It is crucial that Congress act".
"Congress has a historic opportunity to strengthen the growing partnership between the world's oldest and largest democracies and support thousands of US jobs in the process," he said, strongly urging "the House and Senate to approve this historic initiative before the close of the 110th Congress."
The US-India civil nuclear initiative will bring India into the international nuclear non-proliferation mainstream and enhance the safety of India's civil programme.
The initiative will also help to revitalise the US nuclear industry and create thousands of high-tech American jobs, the letter from the chamber said, noting India's civil nuclear programme commenced operation when its first reactor, made by General Electric, began producing nuclear power in 1961.
Congress affirmed India's worthiness as a partner in civil nuclear trade in December 2006 when it passed the Henry J Hyde United States India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act by overwhelming bipartisan margins, it noted.
Since then, sensitive issues relating to non-proliferation have been carefully considered and unanimously resolved by the 35 governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the 45 member nations of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the chamber said.
The Bush administration has also sought to sell the deal to US Congress advancing similar arguments in touting its non-proliferation, environmental and economic benefits that will accrue to both India and the US.
"The civil nuclear initiative enjoys strong support from US industry, and India's ambitious nuclear energy plans demonstrate why," Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at a hearing on the deal last week.
Indian officials indicate they plan to import at least eight new 1,000 MW power reactors by 2012 and additional reactors in the years ahead, he said. Preliminary private studies suggest that even just two of these reactor contracts for US firms would add 3,000-5,000 new direct jobs, and about 10,000-15,000 indirect jobs in the United States, Burns said.
Calling the panel's attention to the strong "commercial letter" of intent US had negotiated with India, "which has been strongly endorsed by key US firms", the official said the key benefits of the initiative were "compelling".
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The Hindu : Front Page : Manmohan leaves for U.S., France
Manmohan leaves for U.S., France
Special Correspondent
Civil nuclear issue to figure in Bush-PM talks
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday left for a 10-day visit to the United States and France. After a technical halt at Frankfurt, he will leave for New York on Tuesday for the 63rd session of the United National General Assembly (UNGA).
The highlight of Dr. Singh’s U.S. visit will be his meeting with U.S. President George Bush in Washington on September 25 to discuss the “entire range of issues on our bilateral agenda, including our civil nuclear initiative,” he said in a pre-departure statement. “They will be carrying forward their discussions during the G-8 summit in Hokkaido, Japan, and we expect them to review the progress of a wide range of initiatives in the last three years that have transformed the relationship,” noted Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon.
On the sidelines of the UNGA, Dr. Singh will meet Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to review progress in trade and people-to-people contacts and discuss global issues on which both countries hold similar views.
The talks will be held in the context of the document ‘Vision for the 21st Century’ signed by Dr. Singh and Mr. Wen which covers economy, politics, energy, nuclear, climate change, terrorism, regional trade, defence and border issues.
Dr. Singh will also meet Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and reiterate India’s concern over continuing cross-border terrorism and frequent incidents of ceasefire violations. The two could make an announcement on improving bilateral ties. The Prime Minister will also meet leaders of Italy, the U.K. and Namibia.
Interspersed by his Washington visit, Dr. Singh’s engagements at the U.N. include the event on the Millennium Development Goals. He will reiterate India’s call to democratise the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the need to reform international institutions. His call to expand the UNSC will come against the backdrop of the U.N. agreeing to begin inter-governmental negotiations on the issue next year. “That certainly means progress, but it is difficult to speculate [on any timeline],” observed Special Secretary (Political) in the Ministry for External Affairs Vivek Katju. There is no possibility of an early breakthrough, as almost 200 countries will be involved in the negotiations comprising several blocs with varying formulations on how to expand the UNSC.
Dr. Singh will attend the Ninth India-European Union (EU) summit at the French port city of Marseilles. “The EU is our largest trading partner with whom we enjoy a multi-faceted strategic partnership. We have diverse areas of cooperation, including in the area of counter-terrorism, which I will seek to strengthen,” said Dr. Singh’s pre-departure statement. He will also be present at the India-EU Business summit to be held on the sidelines of the India-EU Summit.
Dr. Singh will then travel to Paris for a bilateral meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy to consolidate ties in the areas of trade and investment, defence, space, civil nuclear cooperation and high technology. Both countries are working on a pact on nuclear cooperation and will sign an agreement on civil aviation.
I think namibia visit is for the uranium mines. Correct me if I am wrong.
Manmohan leaves for U.S., France
Special Correspondent
Civil nuclear issue to figure in Bush-PM talks
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday left for a 10-day visit to the United States and France. After a technical halt at Frankfurt, he will leave for New York on Tuesday for the 63rd session of the United National General Assembly (UNGA).
The highlight of Dr. Singh’s U.S. visit will be his meeting with U.S. President George Bush in Washington on September 25 to discuss the “entire range of issues on our bilateral agenda, including our civil nuclear initiative,” he said in a pre-departure statement. “They will be carrying forward their discussions during the G-8 summit in Hokkaido, Japan, and we expect them to review the progress of a wide range of initiatives in the last three years that have transformed the relationship,” noted Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon.
On the sidelines of the UNGA, Dr. Singh will meet Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to review progress in trade and people-to-people contacts and discuss global issues on which both countries hold similar views.
The talks will be held in the context of the document ‘Vision for the 21st Century’ signed by Dr. Singh and Mr. Wen which covers economy, politics, energy, nuclear, climate change, terrorism, regional trade, defence and border issues.
Dr. Singh will also meet Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and reiterate India’s concern over continuing cross-border terrorism and frequent incidents of ceasefire violations. The two could make an announcement on improving bilateral ties. The Prime Minister will also meet leaders of Italy, the U.K. and Namibia.
Interspersed by his Washington visit, Dr. Singh’s engagements at the U.N. include the event on the Millennium Development Goals. He will reiterate India’s call to democratise the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the need to reform international institutions. His call to expand the UNSC will come against the backdrop of the U.N. agreeing to begin inter-governmental negotiations on the issue next year. “That certainly means progress, but it is difficult to speculate [on any timeline],” observed Special Secretary (Political) in the Ministry for External Affairs Vivek Katju. There is no possibility of an early breakthrough, as almost 200 countries will be involved in the negotiations comprising several blocs with varying formulations on how to expand the UNSC.
Dr. Singh will attend the Ninth India-European Union (EU) summit at the French port city of Marseilles. “The EU is our largest trading partner with whom we enjoy a multi-faceted strategic partnership. We have diverse areas of cooperation, including in the area of counter-terrorism, which I will seek to strengthen,” said Dr. Singh’s pre-departure statement. He will also be present at the India-EU Business summit to be held on the sidelines of the India-EU Summit.
Dr. Singh will then travel to Paris for a bilateral meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy to consolidate ties in the areas of trade and investment, defence, space, civil nuclear cooperation and high technology. Both countries are working on a pact on nuclear cooperation and will sign an agreement on civil aviation.
I think namibia visit is for the uranium mines. Correct me if I am wrong.
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