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New Delhi perceives the following concrete deliverables from
deal
- It is the culmination of a process envisioned in the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership
(NSSP)
- It will have an impact on technological cooperation in terms of high technologies, dual-use and defence technologies
- It will help India diversify its energy portfolio and promote energy security
- It will reduce India’s dependence on fossil fuels-which will have a positive environmental impact
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New Delhi, January 28
The United States today came up with yet another gentle but graphic reminder when it said India must sew up the nuclear deal with Washington within the lifetime of the Bush administration or be prepared to wait until 2010.
US Ambassador here, David C Mulford, stressed the importance of concluding the deal at the earliest and spoke of ‘practical difficulties’ if this were not done. “If the processes are not finished during the term of this administration, then we must understand that there will be a new administration in the US and also a new Congress,” Mulford said at a select briefing, adding that the nuclear deal issue may not then be taken up till the new government settles down in office, possibly by 2009 or 2010.
The US reminder has come at a time when the fifth and final round of India-IAEA talks at Vienna are just about to begin. After the India-IAEA talks conclude, the Manmohan Singh government is to convene the UPA-Left panel meeting for determining whether the Indo-US nuclear deal has a chance of immediate operationalisation or not.
At the same time, Mulford took precaution not to attract the ire of the Left parties by appearing meddlesome. “We are not pushing. We are patiently waiting for India to complete its process and conclude a safeguards pact with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)... The US respects India’s political process. It underlines our keen desire not to interfere in the domestic political process.”
Depending on the outcome of the India-IAEA negotiations and the Left parties’ final call on the sensitive subject, the US point-man and third senior-most foreign policy official Nicholas Burns would travel to India. Burns as well as Defence Secretary Robert Gates are expected to visit India next month. The Indo-US nuclear deal has faced a twin setback as two points-man on the deal have decided to call it quits - Burns from the post of Under Secretary of State and Ronen Sen from the post of Indian Ambassador in the US.
Mulford gently reminded New Delhi today saying “It is practical for India to complete the entire process this year. Time has been passing.” But he hastily added that even if the N-deal were not to go through in the near future, it would not affect the Indo-US ties. He described the United States’ relationship with India as “one of the most important for the US in the next 20-25 years.”
