The Hindu : Front Page : Shiv Shankar Menon briefs IAEA Board, NSG members

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Shiv Shankar Menon briefs IAEA Board, NSG members

Vienna: Lobbying for the nuclear deal with the United States, India on Friday briefed the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and members of the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) on the safeguards agreement amid reports that there was no sign of opposition to the accord.

After discussing with IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei the text of the India-specific safeguards accord, Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon told the representatives of 54 countries that the text was a good one.

Of the 35 members of the Board, 26 also belong to the NSG. The other 19 NSG countries were also invited for the special briefing. The Board is scheduled to meet here on August 1 to consider the drafts safeguards text for approval.

If it is approved, it will be an important step in operationalising the nuclear deal.

Closed door meeting

The briefing, which was a closed door affair, significantly coincided with the third anniversary of the July 18, 2005 India-U.S. civil nuclear understanding.

At the briefing, some factual and technical issues were raised by the delegates.

Mr. Menon is understood to have allayed apprehensions about the fallout of the pact on the nuclear non-proliferation regime.

He also highlighted the importance of the India-U.S. nuclear deal initiative while citing the country’s impeccable track record on the non-proliferation front despite not being a signatory to NPT.

Mr. ElBaradei, a strong advocate of the deal, also met U.S. diplomat William Burns for talks on the nuclear pact. — PTI

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