Pranab, Rice to ink nuclear accord on 13 October

06 October 2008

New Delhi: Having already missed one deadline for signing the Indo-US nuclear accord on 4 October, when for reasons not clear visiting US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and Indian external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee failed to sign on the dotted line of the freshly ratified 123 Agreement, it is now being put out by Indian government sources that the signing ceremony may likely occur on 13 October. The venue this time around will be Washington.

The likely signatories are expected to remain the same, with Condi Rice and Pranab Mukherjee expected to do the honours for their respective countries.

It is widely surmised that India may like to see the final version of the Indo-US nuclear Bill, in the form it is signed into law by president George W Bush, before taking a final call on its acceptance.  According to reports, president Bush is expected to sign the Bill on Wednesday, 8 October.

There is reason to believe that the Indian side is hesitant to embrace the agreement as it exists because of a supplementary resolution attached to it by the US Senate in the course of ratification last week. The resolution seeks a reassurance from the American president that the United States will seek to prevent transfer of nuclear equipment or technology to India from other governments in the Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG) should nuclear transfer to India be suspended or terminated by the US.

The repeated emphasis put by the US administration on the applicability of the provisions of the Hyde Act to the Indo-US nuclear deal have also struck a sour note with the Indian side, which hhave been strenuously maintaining that such US internal laws are not binding on India.

Provisions of the Hyde Act ask the president to ensure that the US will work with NSG member countries to terminate fuel supplies to India if it should test nuclear weapons. Other provisions seek Indian support for action against Iran.