By IANS,
New Delhi : Amid a deepening global economic crisis, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet US President Barack Obama Friday in the balmy Indonesian resort of Bali to discuss a host of issues, including fast-tracking their landmark nuclear deal.
Confirming the meeting, India Wednesday struck an upbeat note about the state of India-US relations.
“There has been significant process across a broad spectrum of bilateral relations,” Sanjay Singh, secretary (East) in the external affairs ministry told reporters here.
This will be the first meeting between the two leaders since Obama came on a state visit to India last November.
The two leaders, who will meet on the margins of the 18-nation East Asia Summit, will discuss a wide spectrum of regional and international issues, Sanjay Singh said.
They are expected to give a push to the their nuclear deal that has languished due to Washington’s apprehensions about India’s civil nuclear liability regime which American nuclear companies find onerous. Manmohan Singh is expected to assure Obama about his plan to place rules and procedures relating to the liability regime in the forthcoming winter session of parliament that begins Nov 22.
They will also discuss a cluster of international issues, including the festering Eurozone crisis, global terrorism, the East Asia regional architecture and climate change.
Manmohan Singh leaves Thursday for a two-nation tour of Singapore and Indonesia.