Washington: Ahead of his meeting with
President Barack Obama, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said
India has no worries about US honouring the Indo-US nuclear
deal, but would like to get a "positive reaffirmation" of the
present administration to carry forward the process.
Singh, who will arrive in Washington on a three-day
State Visit late tonight, said India would like to
operationalise the "watershed" agreement and ensure that the
objectives for the nuclear deal are realised in full merit.
"We have no worries, but we would like a positive
reaffirmation of this administration to carry forward the
process," Singh said in an interview to NewsWeek magazine,
full transcript of which was released by the Ministry of
External Affairs on its website.
He was asked whether he was concerned about the US
honouring the consent agreement.
Singh said the partnership with US was for sustained
and sustainable development of India and the new global world
order which is in search of a new equilibrium.
"India and the United States could be partners in
refocusing our attention on an equitable, balanced, global
order," Singh, who will meet Obama on Tuesday, said.
Asked whether India is worried about the Test Ban
Treaty which President Obama seems very intent on pushing
through the senate, Singh said "Why should we be worried?. We
are not worried at all."
The Prime Minister said India has a unilateral
moratorium on testing imposed voluntarily and that it stands
by that.
"We would like to work with President Obama to promote
the cause of global nuclear disarmament, a world free of
nuclear weapons," Singh said.
"I think that is a world which has been the dream of
our leaders from Jawaharlal Nehru to Rajiv Gandhi. We would
like to work with all like-minded countries to achieve that
goal," he said.
Singh also hoped that the US will be "more liberal" in
transferring technologies to India and clear the way for
implementing the landmark agreement on nuclear cooperation.
"We had a watershed and a landmark agreement with the
US on nuclear cooperation. We would like to operationalise it
and ensure that the objectives for the nuclear deal are
realised in full merit," he said.
Singh said the restrictions on technology transfers
to India "make no sense" since the country has an impeccable
record of non-proliferation.
Top Indian and US officials are holding hectic parleys
to conclude a deal on reprocessing of spent fuel before the
Singh-Obama meeting.
PTI