New Delhi, December 6
When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh holds talks with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in Tokyo on December 15, his agenda will be shaped by two important evolving developments: the nuclear deal with the USA and the United Nations General Assembly taking up a debate on reform and expansion of the Security Council.

India faces tough nuclear diplomacy in Japan —known for its strong views on non-proliferation and also a key member of the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group, the nodal international body regulating nuclear matters.

Both Indian and American governments are expecting that the two chambers of the US Congress — the 435-member House of Representatives and the 100-member Senate -- will vote on the reconciled Bill by this weekend when the lame-duck session concludes. Mr David Kennedy, spokesman for the US Embassy here, told The Tribune that things were moving in the right direction and the reconciliation process was expected to be over this afternoon Washington time.

The US Ambassador here Mr David C. Mulford met External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee this afternoon in the latter’s South Block office and briefed him about the latest status of the nuclear Bill.

Mr Nicholas Burns, the Bush administration’s point man for the nuclear deal, is arriving here after midnight tonight to hold talks with senior Indian officials on the nuclear deal. The Under Secretary of State will brief the Indian officials about the last lap of the Congressional process for enacting a legislation on the nuclear deal and is expected to address certain Indian concerns about the deal.

Mr Mukherjee, while replying to written questions in the Lok Sabha today, said India had conveyed its concerns to the USA about the current versions of the American legislation relating to the nuclear deal. “It is our position that the final legislation adhere as closely as possible to the understandings contained in the India-US Joint Statement of July 18, 2005, and the March 2006 Separation Plan,” Mr Mukherjee said.

The Minister said an amendment to the waiver Bill passed by the US Senate on November 16 last to enable full civil nuclear energy cooperation with India envisaged the setting up of a Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) programme to further common non-proliferation goals. He pointed out that the US Congress had earlier legislated on establishing a CTR programme with India under the Department of Defence Appropriations Act 2002, which had not been implemented yet.

The other development -- the UNGA debate on Security Council expansion and reforms — will still be on when Dr Manmohan Singh meets his Japanese counterpart in Tokyo for official talks.

On both these issues, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon, while briefing reporters on Prime Minister’s bilateral visit to Japan, said New Delhi had constantly remained in touch with Tokyo. On the nuclear deal, Mr Menon said it was “an ongoing conversation” and that Tokyo’s views on the subject were “still evolving”.

In response to a question from this correspondent on the G4 dialogue on the issue of UNSC Permanent Membership of the four countries in the grouping — India, Japan, Germany and Brazil -- the Foreign Secretary said the issue was discussed in Geneva last month and the Group planned to meet shortly later in New York. He described it as “an evolving situation”.

India is participating in the debate in the plenary of the UNGA on December 11. “The object is to keep focus on this vital issue while developing a model of UN Security Council that has wide support and acceptance. So far, the progress in this direction has been satisfactory,” Mr Pranab Mukherjee told the Lok Sabha in a written reply today.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh embarks on his two-nation tour on December 11 morning. He reaches Sebu, the famous Phillipines tourist resort, for two multilateral events — the India-ASEAN annual summit and the second East Asian Summit. He reaches Tokyo on December 13 evening. The next day Dr Manmohan Singh is scheduled to address the joint session of the Diet, the Japanese Parliament, which the Foreign Secretary described as “a singular honour”. He returns home on December 16.