The United States on Thursday asserted it remains committed to complete all agreements with India in regard to the Civil Nuclear Cooperation and want American companies to have contracts for supply of nuclear power plants like other countries have with New Delhi.
``We want to implement all agreements which include 123 and waiver. No doubt nuclear issue will be discussed [at the meetings during the visit of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to India]. As far as the U.S, it will fully implement agreements made and move forward…and American companies have contracts like other countries’’, the U.S. Charge d’Affaires A. Peter Bulreigh said here.
Mr. Burleigh said this at a media conference ahead of Secretary Clinton’s visit to India between July 18-20 for the bilateral Strategic Dialogue, which he said covers a wide range of issues like education, science and technology, defence, counter-terrorism and health.
India remains concerned at the changes made to the Nuclear Supplier Group guidelines for sale of Enrichment and Reprocessing (ENR) technology with an Indian official telling The Hindu in Washington that notwithstanding the subsequent reassurance from the United States that the ‘clean waiver’ granted to India for ENR sales will supersede the wording of the new NSG guidelines, the issue remains important to New Delhi.
Mr. Burleigh said additional discussions were required in the field of higher education on the implementation aspect based on what both countries desire to achieve. As for Defence relations, he said its nature would not be determined by the loss of Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft deal.
Irrespective of the latest bomb blasts in Mumbai which the U.S condemned and offered any assistance in terms of investigation, he said the issue of counter-terrorism is a long plan.
Asked whether India would get access to David Headley and Tahawur Rana, in connection with the 2008 Mumbai terror attack case, Mr. Burleigh said “we can genuinely discuss’’ but it becomes slightly complicated in view of the judicial process on against them in the United States.
On foreign policy, he said, both sides would discuss the entire gamut of relations as well as East Asia, South East Asia and Africa. The progress in recent talks between India and Pakistan as also the U.S. approach in Afghanistan would come up during the talks.
Ms. Clinton arrives here on July 18 for the official talks scheduled on Tuesday with External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna She would also meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
On July 20, Ms. Clinton would travel to Chennai, which Mr. Burleigh said is the first visit by a Secretary of State. He said the visit is important to the United States which has investments in South India and that a large number of students from the region, particularly Tamil Nadu study in the United States.
