By IANS
New York : The US has made another bid to push India to move faster on the landmark civilian nuclear deal, saying that time was running out, even as the deal remains stalled by opposition from the Indian coalition government’s Leftist allies.
While it was an internal matter for New Delhi to decide whether to go ahead with the deal or not, time is running out for it, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns suggested Tuesday.
“We don’t want to interfere in those decisions but we’re certainly saying this is a time for reflection, and we hope eventually a time for action to push it forward,” Washington’s key negotiator on the deal told the Council on Foreign Relations here.
We’d like to get this agreement to the US Congress by the end of the year,” Burns said, noting that the US was approaching an election year and it was hard to pass legislation at such times. “We don’t have an unlimited amount of time,” he added.
However, he was not pessimistic about the developments despite the deal being put on hold in New Delhi under pressure from the Indian Left.
“It is a dramatic situation over there in India, but no one said the deal is dead,” he said, hoping “the Indian government will be able to take the deal to its formal conclusion”.
About the remaining steps, Burns said New Delhi has to reach a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) after which the US would have to get approval from the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
The implementing 123 agreement would then be sent to the Congress for ratification, Burns said, reiterating the nuclear deal was in the interest of New Delhi, Washington, the global community and environment.
The foreign policy pursued by India over the years has given credibility to New Delhi that would help it play a major role in both regional and global affairs, he said.
For example, India has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty but it has been following its rules voluntarily. On the other hand, Iran had signed the treaty and yet reneged on its obligation, he held.
Asked what would happen if, as it “seems quite likely”, the Indian government could not deliver, Burns said, “I’m not as pessimistic”.
Burns said the Indo-US nuclear deal has become the centrepiece of a new relationship between India and the US, and is part of a broader shift in the relations between the two nations.
But Washington’s evolving relationship with India goes beyond the nuclear deal and the Indo-US cooperation could be much broader, he said, noting the private sector had already made huge progress in links with India, particularly in the technology sector.
It was time for the public sector to follow suit, Burns said. “The possibilities for cooperation with India are immense in various fields. There are tremendous opportunities to work together.
“There are great opportunities for American business as India retools and modernises its military,” Burns said. He hoped to see growing US defence sales to India.
Shifting from a foreign policy of non-alignment of the last 60 years, India has a global view that is remarkably similar to America’s, Burns said. “With the rise of India, we have an opportunity to make a strategic partnership with India that we never had before.”