Singh to meet Zardari, Jiabao among world leaders on US visit By G Sudhakar Nair

New York, Sept 23 (PTI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
meets the new Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari here
Wednesday as part of his high-level diplomatic engagements
during his visit to the U.S. that will see India pitchfork
issues ranging from terrorism to expansion of U.N. Security
Council.

The prime minister, who will be addressing the United
Nations General Assembly (U.N.G.A.) after a gap of two
years is also due to meet U.S. President George W Bush and his
Chinese and British counterparts -- Wen Jiabao, and Gordon
Brown -- for talks on bilateral, regional and international
issues.

Singh's meetings with world leaders on the sidelines of
the 62nd session of U.N.G.A. in a packed schedule are the
first after India secured the crucial Nuclear Suppliers Group
(N.S.G.) waiver that brought the country back into nuclear
mainstream 34 years after the Pokhran explosions.

The prime minister, who flew in last evening to begin his
five-day visit to the U.S., will kick off his parleys with a
meeting with Wen followed by a meeting with the President of
the World Bank Robert Zoellick.

Singh is due to meet Bush on Thursday evening at the Oval
office in Washington and will be hosted a working dinner at
the Old Family Dining room at the White House.

The meeting takes place amid growing uncertainty over
whether the U.S. Congress will greenlight the 123 Agreement in
the last lap of the tortuous journey of the Indo-U.S. nuclear
deal to coincide with Singh's working visit to Washington.

Singh meets Zardari in the evening at the U.N.
Headquarters amid indications that issues relating to rise in
cross-border terrorism and ceasefire violations will be
vigorously addressed by India. Indian officials ahead of this
meeting have indicated that New Delhi expects Zardari to spell
out measures to check cross-border terrorism.

The Wen-Singh parleys are expected to touch upon the
progress in resolving the vexed border question in the context
of the latest round of talks in Beijing. New Delhi has said
that there are still gaps in the framework for a solution
mooted by the two countries and that attempts were being made
to narrow down the differences.

The perceived negative role of China at the N.S.G.
meeting in forging a consensus to grant India-specific waiver
is unlikely to cast its shadow at the meeting.

In between his diplomatic engagements, Singh will address
a CEOs lunch hosted by Indian Ambassador Ronen Sen.

Singh is also slated to meet the Republican Presidential
candidate John McCain tomorrow.

On Thursday, the prime minister will attend the Millenium
Development Goal meeting at the U.N. A meeting with
Netherlands Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende has also been
planned on that day.

The prime minister's engagements on Friday are his
address to the U.N.G.A. besides meetings with Brown, Italian
Premier Silvio Berlusconi and Namibian President Hifikepunye
Lucas Pohamba. On the same day, he will have a restricted
meeting with few prominent members of the Indian community.

Singh will attend a reception hosted by Ambassador Ronen
Sen to wind up his visit before leaving for Marseilles in
France to attend the Indo-European Union Summit.