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India and US in last-ditch efforts to revive N-deal

* France waiting for India to sign safeguards agreement with IAEA

By Iftikhar Gilani

NEW DELHI: India and the United States are trying to revive the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal, which observers here are labelling “dead”.

While the US recently termed the deal too “critically important” to be labelled dead, Indian government said it would continue to build a “broad national consensus”.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee expressed the hope that outstanding issues regarding the agreement would be resolved and the nuclear deal with several other countries would be made. “We hope to resolve this soon and implement various agreements on civil nuclear co-operation,” he told a business conference in the Indian capital.

Mukherjee said the international landscape was undergoing “dramatic changes”, adding that no great power could pursue exclusive co-operation with other countries or ask India to limit ties with others. In an apparent reference to Left parties’ opposition to closer ties with the US, he said, “...indeed increased co-operation with one power opens the doors further with others.”

“The current world order is one of general non-alignment – a de-hyphenation of relationships; and re-engagement amongst several major powers in informal alliances to deal with issues occurs on the basis of convergence of interests,” Mukherjee said. “For the first time in India’s independent history, we are now on an upward spiral of improving relations with all major powers,” he added.

France waiting: Meanwhile, France said that it was waiting for India to sign a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and get an exemption from the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

French Ambassador Jerome Bonnafont said his country was “pleading” with the IAEA and the NSG to exempt India in this regard so that it can have nuclear co-operation with the international community.

“We believe strongly that an agreement between India and the IAEA leading to a special case presented to the NSG, which will allow India to cooperate in the civilian nuclear area with foreign countries, is a good thing for India and a good thing for the world,” Bonnafant added.

A bilateral civil nuclear agreement between France and India, on the lines of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, is almost ready for signature by the two sides.

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