Even as India is accelerating its efforts to secure membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group in order to achieve a major domestic expansion in the nuclear power sector, increase nuclear commerce with
Even as India is accelerating its efforts to secure membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group in order to achieve a major domestic expansion in the nuclear power sector, increase nuclear commerce with other countries and focus on nuclear exports, PM Narendra Modi is leaving on Saturday morning on a five-nation visit to Afghanistan, Qatar, Switzerland, the US and Mexico, during which the focus, apart from the NSG, will also be to broaden bilateral trade, as well as energy and security cooperation.
Modi is likely to seek support of Switzerland and Mexico for India’s membership of the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group as both these countries are key members of the elite grouping.
The issue is also likely to figure during Mr Modi’s meeting with US President Barack Obama in Washington on June 7. India has formally applied for membership of the NSG on May 12.
PM Modi is expected to strongly push for India’s membership to the NSG during his visit to Switzerland, Mexico and the US — countries that are part of the elite group that looks after critical issues relating to the atomic sector.
“This has been the objective we pursued for many many years. I think we have made lot of progress and that has led us to formally apply for the NSG membership some days ago. We are engaged with all NSG members,” foreign secretary S. Jaishankar said. He also said India was looking at a major domestic expansion in nuclear power sector, apart from a “very large” international collaboration with different countries, and its entry into the NSG would help its objective of having clean energy. He insisted that India not signing the NPT should not be linked to its bid for NSG membership.
“We have a very solid record with which much of the world is comfortable. The NSG has already made one exception for us. In a sense, our credentials have been examined, a judgement was arrived at in 2008. In 2008, we gave some commitments, we gave commitments on separation of our nuclear programme, between civil and the strategic side. We agreed to accept and implement additional protocol... We faithfully followed up,” he said. The Foreign Secretary said granting NSG membership to India is a “logical next step”. During his talks with the leadership of Mexico, Switzerland and the US, Modi is likely to seek support for India’s membership bid at the NSG. About NPT and NSG, Jaishankar said the “objectives are different and I would not confuse apples for oranges.”
