PM to discuss nuke deal with Bush during US visit

New Delhi, Sep 22 (PTI) With the Bush administration
pushing hard to get the Congressional nod for the Indo-U.S.
civilian nuclear deal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday
said he was looking forward to discussions on the entire range
of bilateral issues, including the civil nuclear initiative.

"I look forward to my discussions with him (US President
George W Bush) on the entire range of issues on our bilateral
agenda with the United States, including our civil nuclear
initiative," he said before embarking on a 10-day visit to the
U.S. and France.

He said in recent years Indo-U.S. relations have expanded
significantly in areas of mutual interest such as education,
trade, business, technology, energy and agriculture.

"The engagement between the two countries has
strengthened and we are pursuing the multi-faceted cooperation
to our mutual benefit," he said.

With just few working days left for the U.S. Congress to
take a call on the 123 agreement to clear the decks for the
nuke deal in its last lap, the White House is optimistic of
wrapping up the pact during Singh's working visit to
Washington on September 25 for a meeting with Bush.

Singh's first diplomatic engagement abroad after the
crucial waiver that ended the country's 34-year nuclear
isolation may also see India and France firm up an agreement
on civil nuclear energy cooperation after summit talks with
President Nicholas Sarkozy in Paris on September 30.

Singh, who would be attending the 63rd session of the
U.N. General Assembly in New York, said he will be holding
bilateral talks with world leaders, including China, Italy,
Namibia, Pakistan and the United Kingdom.

The Prime Minister is expected to firmly convey India's
strong concerns over cross-border terrorism and remind
Pakistan about its commitments in this regard at his meeting
with President Asif Ali Zardari who has just spoken about the
need for bilateral ties to be "creatively reinvented".

A meeting with Chinese premier Wen Jiabao has also been
scheduled during which the two leaders are expected to put
behind the strains in bilateral relations following Beijing's
perceived negative role at the Nuclear Suppliers Group
(N.S.G.) meet in Vienna.

The Prime Minister said he will be drawing the attention
of the leaders to the need for the reform of international
institutions, including the U.N. and to address global
challenges such as the food and energy crises, terrorism and
the progress on the Millennium Development Goals.

Singh, who is being accompanied by a high-level
delegation including Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and
National Security Adviser M K Narayanan, will address the
Indian community in New York on September 27 before leaving
for Marseilles in France.

The progress in India's relations with European countries
as a block in the E.U. and France separately will be reviewed
at the annual Indo-E.U. summit in Marseilles and parleys with
Sarkozy on September 29 and 30 respectively.

India and France have finalised a bilateral nuclear
agreement on the lines of the Indo-U.S. nuke deal but there is
no final word yet as to whether it will be inked during
Singh's visit to Paris. The two countries are, however,
expected to sign a bilateral civil aviation agreement.

The two countries will review the progress in defence
cooperation since it is a key aspect of their overall
bilateral relationship. Singh is also expected to thank
Sarkozy for France's active support in helping India secure
the NSG waiver paving the way for India to resume global
nuclear trade.


Singh will address a Indo-E.U. business summit in Paris
on September 30. The E.U. is India's largest trading partner
while India was E.U.'s 9th largest trading partner in 2007.
The E.U.-India trade has been growing steadily reaching 55.66
billion Euro(1.8 percent of E.U.'s total trade). PTI SKU
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