Amid speculations that the United States might offer Pakistan a civil nuclear deal similar to India during the upcoming strategic dialogue on March 24, the US embassy in Islamabad has rejected such reports, saying there are no negotiations on between the two countries on the issue.
Officials hint the visit could finally see a formal defence industrial road map being adopted by both nations.
The Indian position on the Russia-Ukraine war and the unconditional treaty between China and Russia appear to have caused some ripples in India-US relations and led to a reappraisal of India's usefulness to the US in the eventuality of a conflict with China, notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
People say it is not transparent. Four times, Parliament has discussed it clause by clause. It is the most-transparent, most-written-about and most-analyzed agreement in the history of India. America is signing this deal for the same reason. It is doing it in its self-interest.
India and the US may ink the landmark nuclear deal as early as Friday after President George W Bush signs into law the legislation on the initiative. The signing of the HR7081, the approval legislation for the US-India civilian nuclear agreement, into law by Bush on Wednesday will be followed by formal inking of the accord by the two countries, which will be done by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Minister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee.
The United Progressive Alliance-Left stand-off on Indo-US nuclear deal notwithstanding, the Indian Atomic Energy department is holding consultations with International Atomic Energy Agency for working out a safeguards agreement.
Joe Wilson, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has exhorted India-Americans to support the deal
Cyprus and India also finalised an agreement on combating terrorism, illicit drug trafficking and organised crimes.
Participants included members of the House Caucus on India and Indian Americans.
A closed-door meeting of the NSG has been convened by the US on the sidelines of the 51st general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee also discounted the possibility of midterm polls to the Lok Sabha in the wake of differences with the supporting Left parties on the deal.
US President George W Bush on Thursday signed into law the legislation to implement the historic Indo-US civil nuclear deal paving the way for the two countries to formally ink the 123 agreement on Friday.
Their parleys, which staved off a breakdown between the Left and the ruling coalition for the time being, followed a series of meetings between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, United Progressive Alliance chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi and top leaders of the party till late Thursday night.
The Bush administration has been firm in its support for the US-India civilian nuclear agreement and it continues to be so, a US State Department official said. Gonzalo R Gallegos, director, Department's Office of Press Relations, made this observation when asked about more information on the reports that the nuclear deal between the two countries is close to dead.
Dr Singh, who is meeting President Bush in the White House on September 25, was asked whether he would be disappointed if the deal did not come through, and whether he expected it to materialize during this visit. He said, "In politics, one has to learn to deal with disappointments but I do not believe we have reached that point yet. I am still hopeful it will happen".
Srinivasan said instead of relying on nuclear energy, the country should look at available renewable sources of energy to meet the energy requirement.
Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma, who is traveling with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the India-Brazil and South Africa summit at Johannesburg, said India must be part of a global nuclear system.
The report submitted by Obama on Monday -- which is the first one given to the US Congress by a President as required by the legislation signed into law last October by then President George W Bush, is one in a series of determinations required to be provided to lawmakers on the implementation of the Act, which details India's actions from IAEA safeguards to other non-proliferation commitments.
Continuing with his agenda, Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has sought a civil nuclear agreement with the United States and other atomic powers and asked for the adoption of 'non-discriminatory' criteria. Gilani raised the issue on Monday, during a working dinner hosted by United States President Barack Obama for the world leaders, which kicked off the 47-nation two-day Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.
In a step closer to the operationalisation of the Indo-US nuclear deal, US President George W Bush has formally certified to the Congress that the 123 agreement is consistent with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
Pressing for early conclusion of the civil nuclear deal, the US on Wednesday said, "The clock is ticking" and hoped the United Progressive Alliance government would be able to end the domestic deadlock on the issue in time.
Australian PM rules out uranium deal with India
With the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal in a limbo in the wake of the Indian Parliament's nuclear liability law, the Barack Obama administration has asserted that complete implementation of the accord is imperative for the full transformation of the relationship.
The BJP chief said this had exposed the Left and added that his party opposed the deal with "honesty".
The telephonic conversation between Dr Singh and Medvedev was 'in development of constructive (ties), aimed at practical results talks held on the margins of the recent G-8 summit in Toyako (Japan) and they discussed a wide range of issues, including the preparations for the upcoming Delhi visit of the Russian President', according to the Kremlin.
Both are severe critics of the Indo-US N-deal.
'The Bush administration, through a gag order on its written responses to Congressional questions, had sought to keep the Indian public in the dark on the larger implications of the nuclear deal, lest the accord run into rougher weather. But now its 26 pages of written answers have been publicly released by a senior United States Congressman.'
Allaying fears on the nuclear deal, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Thursday said there was no question of compromise on the national security and independent foreign policy.
BJP wants CPM to vote against the deal in Parliament
United States President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are expected to make meaningful advancements on the GE jet engine deal and civil nuclear technology during their bilateral talks, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was cited in a Reuters report.
T P Sreenivasan, India's former Governor to the International Atomic Energy Agency and ex-Indian Ambassador to the United Nations in Vienna, has predicted that the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal will be honoured regardless of whatever dispensation comes to power following the general election in May. Sreenivasan noted that "two of the three coalitions vying for power in India are committed to amend it, though not to abandon it."
A "well established, foolproof safety and security culture fully qualifies Pakistan for equal participation in civil nuclear cooperation at the international level, which would help us in addressing our immediate energy problems and would bring greater stability as well," Yousuf Raza Gilani said.
Describing the nuclear deal as a "landmark" in Indo-US relations, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said the two countries are finalising details to make the pact fully operational, a step that will remove restriction on the flow of nuclear technology and open a large area of commercial opportunity for American businesses.
Former chairman of Atomic Energy Commission Dr. P K Iyengar, former chairman of Atomic Energy Regulatory Board Dr A Gopalakrishnan and former director of Bhabha Atomic Research Center Dr.A.N. Prasad say that there is a great deal of disquiet among the scientific community at large about the deal. They also said they met the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and discussed about the after-effects of the deal, besides writing to the MPS.
David C Mulford, who will soon vacate his post as United States'ambassador to India, has urged the Obama administration to ensure the implementation of the India-US civilian nuclear agreement.In an interaction at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, Mulford said, "The nuclear deal may be completed, but the work isn't done. There is unfinished business there to be done."
