Seeking support for N-deal, PM to meet NSG members today

As the Left parties watch every move of the government on the Indo-US nuclear deal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet US President George W Bush and other influential members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and seek their support for the civil nuclear cooperation with the US in these fora.

Singh, who struck the deal with Bush in July 2005 and has encountered strong opposition from the Left allies now threatening to withdraw support to the government, will undertake a two-hour early morning drive for his meeting with Bush in Toya, about 200 km from here, a place where all the G-8 leaders are staying.

After the meeting, the Prime Minister will have a breakfast meeting with G-8 as part of the O-5 outreach countries summit with them.

Singh may brief Bush on the recent political developments in which he has won new and crucial political support for the deal at home in the face of severe opposition from the Left and the possibility of overcoming problems in Parliament from the Left action.

The government's plans on approaching the International Atomic Energy Watchdog (IAEA) for securing an India-specific safeguards agreement and moves for taking the matter to the NSG are expected to figure in the discussions with Bush.

The Prime Minister has pointed out that the US was committed once India takes the decision the US will have to fulfill its promises. It is a public commitment on their part,

the Prime Minister said yesterday. He had also said the government would approach the IAEA "very soon" and once it takes the decision the process in this regard was expected to move "pretty fast".

On Wednesday, the Prime Minister will also be meeting the new Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.

He will also interact with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicholas Sarokozy, British premier Gordon Brown and South African President Thabo Mbeki, who are all part of the NSG from where India should get a clear exemption for conducting nuclear commerce with other countries.