U.S., India to Continue Work on Nuclear Deal

Top foreign officials from the United States and India yesterday said they would continue work on a civilian nuclear cooperation deal between the countries while acknowledging the persistent political obstacles to its implementation, the Press Trust of India reported (see GSN, March 24).

Indian communist parties have threatened to withdraw their support from the ruling government and force early elections if leaders in New Delhi move to implement the pact, which would make U.S. nuclear fuel and technology available to India.

Indian leaders are currently holding talks on the agreement with political parties, Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said following a half-hour discussion with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington.

“We are interested in implementing the landmark agreement reached.  But now we have some political problem.  Currently we are engaged in the process of resolving them,” Mukherjee told journalists.

Rice called the deal a “landmark agreement which is good for both sides. … We will continue to work on that agreement.”

U.S. officials have been pressuring their Indian counterparts to push the deal through so it can be considered by Congress within the next few months.  New Delhi has concluded negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency on a safeguards agreement that would give inspectors access to Indian civilian nuclear sites (see GSN, March 5).  Mukherjee noted, though, that the safeguards deal still requires approval from the agency’s governing board.

New Delhi must also pursue an exemption from the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group that would allow India to import nuclear fuel although it has not signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (Sridhar Krishnaswami, Press Trust of India/Hindustan Times, March 24).

The Bush administration is likely to seek assurance from Australia that it would not block the exemption, the Sydney Morning Herald reported (see GSN, Jan. 18).

Australia’s new administration withdrew a previous offer of uranium exports to India, contending that India’s proliferation safeguards would be less stringent than regulations for NPT signatories.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd might delay any promise that his government would not vote against an NSG exemption as long as Indian lawmakers remain deadlocked over approving the trade deal (Anne Davies, Sydney Morning Herald, March 24).

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