By IANS
New Delhi : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has accepted US President George Bush’s invitation to visit his ranch in Crawford, Texas for bilateral talks, but no dates have been finalised yet.
“The prime minister has accepted the invitation. However, dates are yet to be fixed,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Navtej Sarna said when asked whether the prime minister has declined Bush’s invitation to go to the Crawford ranch for bilateral talks as reported in a section of the media.
Manmohan Singh will go to New York in the last week of next month to address the UN General Assembly and will meet Bush on the sidelines of the UNGA.
But it is not yet clear whether Manmohan Singh will go separately to the US on a bilateral visit or whether he will combine his trip to New York with a visit to Bush’s Texas ranch.
Manmohan Singh’s visit to Texas could coincide with the signing of the historic India-US bilateral civil nuclear cooperation agreement which is likely to be voted upon by the Congress after India concludes a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Nuclear Suppliers Group agrees to amend its guidelines in favour of India.
These two steps are likely to be completed in the next two months before the Bush administration presses the US Congress to endorse it with an up and down vote.
US ambassador David Mulford recently stressed that time was of utmost importance as he urged both countries to quickly complete these two crucial steps if the deal has to become legally effective during the tenure of the Bush administration.
Bush invited Manmohan Singh last month to visit his ranch in Texas – a special gesture that is only extended to world leaders with whom the US shares a special relationship.