Menon discusses n-deal with US officials

Lalit K Jha

Washington, Mar 12 (PTI) India is putting in place
mechanisms that will enable private firms to participate in
civil nuclear trade in the country, Indian Foreign Secretary
Shivshankar Menon said Thursday as he discussed with US
officials the way to take forward the Indo-US nuclear deal.

He also sought to allay fears in certain quarters
about the future of the landmark deal, signed during the
previous Bush regime, under the Obama Administration saying it
is on the right track.

"We are taking action domestically to adhere to the
International Convention on Civil Nuclear Liabilities, which
would make possible for US private firms to participate in the
nuclear industry in India," Menon said at the end of his
four-day visit to the US.

"What we had to do with the IAEA (International Atomic
Energy Agency) has been done with the additional protocol and
the rest we would now do. Now we have to bring it to the
commercial level – work with firms and see that we actually
build those reactors and build that fuel cycle.

I think the determination is there on both sides to
see it through and I think it is clear that "we would
continue", Menon told reporters.

"We are determined to do it. Once we apply the
international standards, I think that should be enough for
anybody who is considering entering the market in India,"
Menon said in response to a question.

"In reviewing the progress, we naturally looked at the
civil nuclear agreement and we saw that we are on track,"
Menon said when asked about the historic agreement.

Observing that the deal enjoys bi-partisan support,
Menon said it was a Democratic Congress which saw it through
with a Republican Administration.

"I think that was the strength of it. If it was not
bi-partisan, we would not have been able to do it in the time
that we did and when we did it," he said.

Referring to the series of meetings he had with
officials of the Obama Administration and Congressional
leaders, wherein the nuclear deal came up as a topic of
discussion, Menon said: "I was very reassured by all the
conversations here their determination to go through with it
was quite clear."

Now that the deal has been inked, the civilian nuclear
agreement offers the two countries the potential and the
confidence to move on and to do a more, he observed.

"This is why; we are talking about raising our
relationship to a new level. There is potential now to
actually try and do much more," he said.

Several American firms are keen to enter the nuclear
market in India.