India seeks speedy negotiations of reprocessing arrangements

Lalit K Jha

Washington, May 22 (PTI) India Friday sought speedy
negotiations of reprocessing arrangements as well as
liberalisation of the export licensing procedures to move
forward the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal.

Stating that India is committed to move forward on the
deal, India's new Ambassador to US Meera Shankar said, "this
(deal) is very high on our priority. We are conscious of the
fact that it was the US Government which did the heavy
hitting, if I may use a cricketing metaphor to get this deal
through."

"We would very much like to move forward in a concrete
way with agreements for building nuclear reactors with US
assistance in India," Shankar said at a reception hosted in
her honour by the US-India Business Council (USIBC), in her
maiden public engagement after presenting her credentials to
President Barack Obama Thursday.

Acknowledging the presence of leaders of the US
nuclear industry who are anxious to convert the nuke deal into
business agreements, Shankar said: "We are looking at the
speedy negotiations of reprocessing arrangements to facilitate
this process." Both sides have agreed to commence this process
and have identified their nodal points. "So we expect to
pursue this very expeditiously," she said.

In terms of our concerns on the Indian side, Shankar
said, New Delhi would like to see the liberalization of the
export licensing procedures flowing from the nuclear deal.

"If we have this agreement and at the same time the
procedures continue to be as of old then indeed we have
frustrated one of the objectives of the agreement which is to
provide a more facilitative climate for trade in high
technologies which is again an area of great potential, with
the US already being the single largest source of technology
collaborations for Indian companies," Shankar said.

"We are also looking at the liability issues, which is
a concern for US companies and that is something on which the
Indian government has a policy discussion and is expected to
try to move the issue forward," the new Ambassador said.

Comprising of some 300 American and Indian companies
including many top 500, USIBC is the largest Indo-US trade
body and had played a key role in the passage of the civilian
nuclear deal.

"As I assume my responsibilities as Ambassador in the
United States, I look forward very much to working with the US
industry, to take this relationship to the next level," she
said.

"That is the message I have got from my political
leaders. That is the message not only of the government but
also the voice I hear from the Indian people," she told the
leaders of the US corporate sector. The US industry had played
a very influential role in the passage of the nuclear deal.

"I know there are some building blocks which the two
governments have to put in place to enable this relationship
to fulfill its potential and let me tell you this is something
which is very much engaging our minds," Shankar said.

Expressing satisfaction in the growth of ties between
the two countries, she said: "Overall, I would say there is
enormous potential which I see and I see there is a huge
synergy between India and the United States."

Unlike in the past when one looked with skepticism at
the country, she said India no longer has a credibility
problem of economic reform process. "We have moved quite far
and our relationship with the United States has grown very
significantly in these years," she observed.

Noting that the Indian economy today is more
confident, she said: "We face the world with a greater degree
of openness and that is the direction in which we will move."

Stating that for the Indian Government the challenge
now is to grow the economy on three legs - agriculture and
rural development, industry and services - Shankar said: "I
think these are three pillars where the US can be a very good
partner for India and the potential of which exits is
enormous." PTI LKJ
PMR
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