India hopes to muster NSG support for waiver

NUCLEAR DEAL THE DAY AFTER

However, the US is keeping its fingers crossed because it is not sure if this calendar will meet the September-end deadline for the US Congress to consider and clear the civil nuclear agreement with India in an up-and-down vote.

No-holds-barred lobbying efforts have already begun to influence the 45-nation NSG for an exemption to permit India, a non-NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) signatory, to engage in nuclear commerce. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to write to NSG member-countries this week seeking their support.

 

Indian Ambassador to the US Ronen Sen is in town and had a meeting with the PM today in this regard.

A group of ministers and officials will travel to various NSG countries to muster support for the nuclear deal with the US, particularly focusing on nations which have had reservations so far on allowing exemption to India, including the Nordic countries.

The ministers, including Kapil Sibal, Prithviraj Chavan and Anand Sharma, will explain India's position and explain why India is seeking exemption, sources said.

Besides the ministers, National Security Adviser M K Narayanan, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and other officials of the Ministry of External Affairs will also travel abroad to lobby support.

The government is also expected to instruct its envoys in the NSG countries to approach the governments there for mustering support.

Although no meeting has been fixed for the NSG yet, the US is expected to use its influence to ensure the NSG meeting is held some time in August so that the IAEA India-specific safeguards document and the NSG exemption are ready for the US Congress in its September session.

This is the problem NSG