Rejecting the allegation that the U.S has refused to understand India’s concerns over the issue of nuclear safety and is being “inflexible,” U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Nisha Biswal said: “I don’t know what options India will bring on the liability issue,” adding, “This isn’t just about U.S. companies, but it affects all major international companies hoping to work in this sector. So this is something that is being watched very carefully around the world.”
Ms. Biswal visited New Delhi over the weekend on her way to Kathmandu as an observer for the SAARC summit and met Indian officials just after Mr. Obama announced his upcoming visit. The invitation had been made by Mr. Modi personally, Ms. Biswal said, adding that both leaders share a vision of “India and U.S being the defining partnership of the 21st century.”
About Mr. Obama’s phone call to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Ms. Biswal said it would be “unhelpful and unproductive” to say that the U.S was trying to ‘hyphenate’ the U.S.-India and U.S.-Pakistan visit. During the phone call, Mr. Sharif had reportedly urged Mr. Obama to “take up the cause of Kashmir with the Indian leadership,” and an official press release from Pakistan said, “President Obama expressed his understanding” for the Pakistani position. Ms. Biswal, who is the U.S. point person for South and Central Asia met with SAARC leaders in Kathmandu said, “It is for India and Pakistan to resolve these issues between themselves, and for them to decide the pace nature, scope and characteristics of such dialogue. But we do encourage dialogue between them.”
