Manmohan to meet Bush on July 9
Press Trust of India
Friday, July 04, 2008, (New Delhi)
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet US President George W Bush on July nine on the sidelines of the G-8 summit in Hokkaido in Japan when he Is expected to discuss the progress in the nuclear deal after sorting out domestic political problems over the agreement.
Briefing reporters on the Prime Minister's three-day visit, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon, however, did not give details of what they would discus but said the government would like to go ahead with the deal "as soon as we can" but it was not possible to give a timeframe for it.
"We will go ahead with it as soon as we can. Once we take a decision to approach the IAEA, we will let you know," he said adding the US was committed to getting India exemption from the Nuclear Suppliers Group for nuclear commerce under the July, 2005 civil nuclear cooperation agreement.
Menon said India was in touch with members of the NSG and it would proceed on the deal "as soon as we can". Many of the world leaders who would be attending the Hokkaido summit are also members of the NSG, he added.
Asked about US Congressman Gary Ackerman's comments that time was running out for the deal, he said he would like to get into the issue of timeframe.
"We would like to go ahead with it. We go ahead with it as soon as we can," he added.
To a question on the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project, Menon said India would continue discussions with the Iran and Pakistan to ensure that the project was commercially and economically viable and to ensure its security.
Bilateral discussions with the two countries would also continue, he said.