New Delhi, September 21
With terrorism posing the biggest challenge to the stability of South Asia, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, when he addresses the UN General Assembly on September 26, will give a clarion call to the world community to launch a relentless fight against the scourge.
The threat posed by terrorism to the humankind weighs heavily on Singh’s mind as he leaves here tomorrow for the United States and France on a 10-day visit. The visit is in the backdrop of the serial blasts in Indian cities and the blast in the hotel in Islamabad yesterday.
On the most significant overseas visit of his premiership, Singh will meet a galaxy of world leaders, including US President George Bush, French President Nicholas Sarkozy, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Chinese premier Wen Jiabao to discuss a whole range of issues. However, all eyes will be on his meeting with President Bush on September 25 when he pays a working visit to Washington. If the Indo-US nuclear deal is approved by US Congress by then, the two leaders are expected to sign the enabling 123 agreement to operationalise the historic deal.
With just three working days left for the US Congress to take a call on the 123 agreement to clear the decks for the nuclear deal in its last lap, both New Delhi and the White House are optimistic of wrapping up the pact during Singh's visit.
India is likely to soon enter into similar nuclear energy cooperation accords with France and Russia to meet its growing energy needs. If the nuke deal does not secure the approval of US Congress when it breaks for the presidential election on September 26. India has already made it clear that it would not put on hold its accords for nuclear energy cooperation with France and Russia.
In his address to the UN General Assembly on September 26 which also happens to be his birthday, Singh, besides highlighting the need to fight the scourge of terrorism, is expected to strongly pitch for the expansion of the Security Council and democratisation of the UN systems. He will also touch upon important issues, including terrorism, verifiable and comprehensive nuclear disarmament, food crisis and poverty eradication.
On the sidelines of the UN meet, Singh will meet Zardari to once again remind Islamabad of its pledge not to allow the misuse of the Pakistani territory for promoting terrorist activities directed against India. Zardari had, yesterday, in his address to the Pakistani Parliament spoken about the need for bilateral ties to be ‘creatively reinvented’.The Prime Minister’s meeting with his Chinese counterpart could provide India an occasion for frank talk in the light of Beijing's attempts to stonewall a consensus in the 45-nation NSG which met in Vienna earlier this month to consider granting a waiver to India to engage in nuclear commerce.
Singh, who had last addressed the UN in 2005, will be in New York from September 23 to 27 after an overnight halt in Frankfurt. He will be attending the Indo-EU summit in Marseilles in France on September 29. It will be followed by the India-France bilateral summit in Paris the next day before he returns home.
An India-France nuclear cooperation pact is ready for signing but it is not clear whether it will be formally inked during Singh’s visit.
“We are working towards signing the agreement,” according to foreign secretary Shiv Shankar
Menon.
