March 21, 2008 IAEA Pact 'Ready',
Mukherjee Heads for Washington
New Delhi
Ahead of his visit to Washington, External Affairs Minister Pranab
Mukherjee Friday made it clear that the text of India's safeguards
agreement with the IAEA had been finalized but can only be
"initialed" after a nod from the government's Left allies.
"Some text has been reached, which only needs to be initialed, and
that waits for the political process," he said told the CNN-IBN
channel before heading for Washington Sunday.
Mukherjee is likely to call on US President George Bush and will
meet US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and discuss the progress
of the nuclear deal and the entire spectrum of bilateral and global
issues.
Besides the deal, Mukherjee will also discuss cooperation in other
areas, including defence, and high technology.
Allying the Left's anxiety that the deal will be operationalized
after India signs the IAEA agreement, Mukherjee clarified that the
deal has three more hurdles to cross before the actual resumption of
global nuclear commerce with India.
"The deal will be operationalized only after the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the NSG (Nuclear Suppliers Group) and
the US Congress give their approval and the Indian government then
signs the agreement," he said.
"We would like the deal to materialize. I am in the process of the
dialogue (with the Left) and I don't know what will be the outcome,"
he said when asked whether the government will go ahead with the
deal in the face of the relentless opposition of the Left to the
deal.
He also denied there were differences between him and Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh on the nuclear deal and said: "We echoed the same
voice (in parliament). He said we are trying. I said we are trying.
That's all."
Mukherjee also said the process of building consensus with the Left
was on and it would be premature to predict the outcome of the
process. "They are our supporters and have stated their opposition
we are trying to convince them. If we can do it we'll do it if we
can't do it, we can't. The prime minister said if the deal doesn't
happen it is not the end of life. Don't forget that."
The United Progressive Alliance-Left nuclear panel meeting on Monday
was inconclusive and both sides agreed to discuss the specifics of
the pact in April.
Alluding to US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's
meeting with the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, in Himachal Pradesh,
where she urged all freedom lovers to speak against Chinese
"oppression" in Tibet, the minister said that Pelosi was "entitled
to express her views".
This will be Mukherjee's first visit to Washington as foreign
minister.
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