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PM the driving force for finalising nuke deal with US in 2009 too | In July 2005 and in the months and years that followed, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh , was feted as the visionary architect and driving force of the landmark US-India civil nuclear cooperation deal. At that time, the key significance behind the
signing was the ending of India ’s more than 30 years of isolation in the field
of nuclear commerce. More than four years since that first historic signing and
the hard-balled and excruciating negotiating process that has followed, Dr. Singh
is once again emerging as the driving force for fine tuning the deal with Washington
, keeping India ’s interests upper most in his mind. Sources accompanying him
on his trip to Washington revealed that he is on the phone almost on a daily basis
with a team working on the bilateral civil nuclear cooperation deal just as he
did in 2005 when interacting with the Bush White House. Dr. Singh is keen for
the deal to be signed and sealed and President Barack Obama appears to be showing
the same level of enthusiasm and interest. Going by what the sources are saying,
the signing of this deal and ironing out perceived differences on the reprocessing
issue could be the “big ticket” item of the entire trip. According to sources,
there are just one-and-a-half points to be covered. The negotiations are on the
last stretch and a high-powered team is in Washington working out the nitty-gritty
aspects well ahead of and in time for the formal discussions between the heads
of government in the White House on Tuesday. The American leadership is already
on record as saying that this historic agreement should be seen as a thanksgiving
event that will play a part in the much broader framework for facilitating an
enduring friendship with India . Senior officials have described the agreement
as an effort to cement ties between the world's largest democracy with the world's
oldest democracy, and credited "a lot of architects and driving forces behind
this agreement." The view in Washington is that the deal is and will good for
democracy and good for the world. Former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
is on record as saying that "As much as the civil nuclear agreement is a breakthrough,
this (US-India) is also a friendship that is based on values, a friendship that
is based on ties, people-to-people ties.” The Indian side sees the deal as representing
a change and a transformation, emblematic of a new relationship, a beginning of
deeper cooperation. The ultimate aim of the US-India civil nuclear deal is to
enable India to gain access to state-of-the-art civil nuclear technology to enable
it to keep pace with the growing demand for energy, achieve energy security, and
help it to diversify and promote clean and environment-friendly source of energy.
Since August of 2007, both India and United States have adopted a step-by-step
process to negotiate and agree on signing India-specific IAEA protocols on nuclear
safeguards; securing exemption from the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)
to facilitate civil nuclear trade with India ; and seek US Congressional approval
to the 123 Agreement. At home, Dr. Singh ’s government has worked hard to secure
a vote of confidence in Parliament in spite of stringent opposition to the deal,
which the latter views as a pandering to American interests. The signing and sealing
of the deal during this visit, will indeed be the icing on Dr. Singh ’s efforts
of the past four-and-a-half years. |
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