Menon says Indo-US N-deal is in global interest

NSG CLEARS WAIVER: Foreign Secretary said what the Government has done is unprecedented.

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Vienna: On Saturday 34 years of nuclear isolation ended with the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) putting its stamp of approval on the waiver allowing nuclear trade between India and the United States.

The approval came after three days of meetings in Vienna. This has opened the doors of the world to billions of dollars in nuclear commerce.

“The final outcome meets our expectation. It meets the national consensus on disarmament and non proliferation,” says External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

After the approval came Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon said that Indo-US nuclear deal is in global interest and this helped India in getting approval for the waiver.

"We were confident that there was enough of common interest in enabling resumptions of civil nuclear energy cooperation with India because of global need for energy security to fight climate change and to promote sustainable developments. So, I think there was a common interest here in all the countries who were involved in this process," says Menon.

But the path was not smooth. Six countries demanded that tough language be inserted on the consequences if India tested a nuclear device. India dug its heels in and deadlock.

But those numbers whittled down after Mukherjee shot off a statement from Delhi underscoring India's assurances:

• Voluntary unilateral moratorium - Voluntary , unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing.
• Ready to work for Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty(FMCT) - Readiness to work towards a multilateral FMCT.
• No proliferation of sensitive technologies - India will not proliferate sensitive enrichment and reprocessing technologies.
• Working on Additional Protocol - And is working with the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) to conclude an Additional Protocol to the Safeguards Agreement.

Later, the External Affairs Minister got on the phone calling up friends and supporters in the NSG.

Sources told CNN-IBN that China was sabotaging moves towards a consensus egging on Austria and New Zealand to oppose the waiver and there was a time when Delhi mulled cancelling the Chinese Foreign Minister’s visit in the coming week.

The breakthrough came when President George Bush called up China’s President Hu Jintao and the wheels started moving.

“I wish to thank President Bush,” says Mukherjee.

In Vienna quiet elation the waiver document was not changed. It only carried references to the assurances India held out on testing.

I think it's been done so quickly because what we have done is unprecedented,” says Menon.

It's been a nail biting finish to the deliberations at the NSG with suspense alternating with moments of despair and high elation. But in the end India got its waiver without any of its red lines being crossed. It's a crucial step forward in India's search for energy security but in the overall foreign policy calculus.