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PM Modi to seek US President Barack Obama's help for entry in Nuclear Suppliers Group |
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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will utilise US President Barack Obama's India visit later this month to seek unequivocal American support to override opposition from certain European nations and China for membership of the coveted Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in near future.
Senior government officials told ET that entering NSG is one of the top foreign policy priorities for the Modi government, as reflected in the joint statement issued after the Modi-Obama meet in Washington last September.
Key members of NSG including USA, Russia, France, Australia and Japan have been supportive of India's entry into the select club. However, certain European nations and global non-proliferation lobbies are opposing India's entry, officials said, adding that China could also support those who are tying India's membership with either a NSG membership for Pakistan or grant of clean waiver by NSG to Pakistan on the lines of the one granted to India in 2008.
The clean waiver by NSG for India in September 2008 paved the way for several civilian nuclear pacts that the country signed with the USA, France, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Namibia, Canada, UK, Argentina and Australia in the subsequent years for supply of reactors, uranium, sharing of know-how and nuclear waste management.
During Obama's forthcoming visit, Modi will try to impress upon him that he should influence naysayers to lift their objections, officials said, adding that in 2008 the US had pulled its weight behind India and got a few dissenting NSG members to grant India a clean waiver.
The Modi government wants the US to act similarly when India applies for a membership. "India's non-proliferation track record has been exemplary. But India does not want to apply for the membership until it is certain of support from all NSG members. It has harmonised its export control regimes with NSG and Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) that would facilitate NSG membership," said an expert, who did not wish to be named.
There have been suggestions from some quarters that India first become a member of the other non-proliferation regimes like Australia Group and Wassenaar Arrangement ahead of applying for NSG membership but the government wants to enter NSG first.
NSG was created in 1975 as a reaction to India's first nuclear test in 1974 and it has 48 members at present. The members have voluntarily agreed to coordinate their export controls governing transfers of civilian nuclear material and nuclear-related equipment and technology to non-nuclear-weapon states.
Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com
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