Post trust vote, N-deal to move on fast track

NUCLEAR FUTURE: As the Government clears the trust vote, the nuclear deal is now expected to move in the fast track.

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New Delhi: As the Government clears the trust vote, the nuclear deal is now expected to move in the fast track.

However, the Government will have to move quickly if it wants to wrap up the deal with the present American administration.

After bagging 275 in Parliament, the focus has now shifted back to the 123 Agreement and the other steps in the nuclear deal, which has been waiting to be operationalised for more than a year.

“We are on course for the deal, the envoys of Prime Minister will go the IAEA and NSG,” says Minister of State, PMO, Prithviraj Chauhan.

The US State Department was quick to praise Manmohan Singh for his tenacity in pushing the deal through.

"The US welcomes the support in Indian Parliament for the US-India civil nuclear cooperation initiative," Ambassador David C Mulford said in a statement soon after the Government won the trust vote.

The IAEA Board of Governors is meeting on August 1 in Vienna to consider approval of the safeguards agreement.

The members are likely to begin the process for consensus on July 25 and after briefing ambassadors there, last week Foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon seemed confident all dissenting countries are on board.

After this step, the US will have to take the initiative to convene the early meeting of Nuclear Suppliers Group, as time seems to be running out on account of the American Congress.

Twenty-six members of the 45 nation Nuclear Suppliers group have already been sounded out by the Foreign secretary as they are also IAEA board members. Meanwhile, the US has also made diplomatic efforts at the NSG for a waiver for India on fast track too.

However, for the deal with the US to go through, the US House of Congress then needs to vote on the agreement without making any changes by either saying a yes or a no to it by the time the Congress goes into recess by the end of September.

Although the agreement seems to be a cakewalk after Indian Government’s victory at the Parliament, but in reality, there could be hiccups if countries like Australia oppose the safeguards agreement or if Pakistan, an IAEA board member tries to block the deal.

Finally, before the deal is operationalised - likely by the year end - New Delhi and Washington would have to meet again and sign the approved agreement.

But the two sides will have to work quickly and clearly if they want Manmohan Singh and Bush- the two leaders who originally kicked off the deal, to finish what they started three years ago in their present terms of office.