By IANS,
Toyako : Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday met US President George W. Bush at this Japanese resort that is the venue of the G8 summit.
The meeting, that began 7.40 a.m. local time, was held at Hotel Windsor Toya. Manmohan Singh, who winds up a three-day visit here, drove two hours from Sapporo where he is staying, through mist-laden mountains and a lush green country landscape, to meet the American leader who is here to attend the G8 summit of the world’s
industrialised nations.
The India-US nuclear deal, which has caused a rupture in the ruling coalition in New Delhi and led to the government’s Communist allies announcing that they would withdraw from the government, is expected to figure high in the discussions, officials on both sides said.
The Indian government is expected to go through several mandatory procedures with the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Suppliers Group before the deal, in the making for three years, goes to Washington for a presidential determination and Congressional endorsement of the 123 bilateral enabling agreement.
Manmohan Singh, who came here to attend the Outreach meetings of the G8 summit as the representative of one of the five invited emerging economies (India, China, Brazil, South Africa and Mexico), returns to New Delhi Wednesday night.