By Manish Chand, IANS
Pretoria : Amid uncertainty over the fate of the India-US nuclear deal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday said that his government was continuing the process of evolving political consensus over it even as Brazil and South Africa backed New Delhi in the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
“The process of evolving a meaningful political consensus back home is on,” Manmohan Singh told reporters when asked about domestic compulsions in the way of implementing the nuclear deal.
Manmohan Singh’s remarks indicate that his government has not given up hope of operationalising the nuclear deal and was hopeful of bringing the Leftist parties on board.
Two days ago, Manmohan Singh spoke to US President George Bush from Nigerian capital Abuja and admitted of difficulties in the way of implementing the nuclear deal which fuelled speculation that the deal was going to be put off indefinitely.
The next day, Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma told reporters accompanying the prime minister to Johannesburg that the government was hopeful of pushing the nuclear deal through and India will continue to press for integration in global civil nuclear mainstream.
India’s quest for global nuclear integration, meanwhile, got a boost when Brazil and South Africa offered their support in the NSG for the deal and expressed support for forward-looking approach in promoting peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
“Discussions are on. It is a work in progress. We are for peaceful uses of nuclear energy,” South African President Thabo Mbeki told reporters at a joint press interaction with Manmohan Singh and Brazilian President Lula da Silva at the end of the second IBSA (India-Brazil-South Africa) summit here.
The Brazilian president also spoke approvingly of the nuclear deal.
A joint declaration issued at the end of the summit said the three countries would explore approaches to cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear technology under the appropriate International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.
They agreed that international civil nuclear cooperation, under appropriate IAEA safeguards, among countries committed to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation objectives could be enhanced through acceptable forward looking approaches, consistent with their national and international objectives, the declaration said.