Share this story!            

India, US attempt to conclude nuclear deal

By Iftikhar Gilani

NEW DELHI: India and the United States will attempt to resolve the remaining issues, including a reprocessing pace, to complete the nuclear deal when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reaches Washington on Saturday.

“We are optimistic that all these issues will be resolved soon. We are pushing hard,” US Ambassador Timothy J Roemer told reporters here on Wednesday. He said three remaining issues needed to be taken to enable the deal to be operational. These included a civil liability legislation, which the Indian parliament is expected to take up soon, licensing of US nuclear companies to do nuclear business with India, and an agreement to enable New Delhi to reprocess spent fuel through the transfer of appropriate technologies.

Underlining the Obama administration’s commitment to the nuclear deal, the envoy said the Indo-US deal brought a lot of trust and confidence into the bilateral relationship and described it as “a win-win situation” for both countries. “This is the kind of discussion you are going to see between the two leaders in Washington,” he said. They will discuss how to resolve these issues and complete the historic deal, he stressed. Indian officials believe that Singh’s four-day visit will unveil a new framework of strategic partnership revolving around expanded cooperation in areas ranging from counterterrorism and climate change to energy and food security. The two countries last year signed the 123 bilateral civil nuclear cooperation agreement allowing India to import civil nuclear equipment and fuel. “It’s a win-win situation for both of us, “the US envoy said.

Home | Region

Share this story!