NEW DELHI; The stage is all set for India’s big day in Vienna on Friday when the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency meets to ratify the safety agreement on the Indo-US nuclear deal.
There is quiet optimism here in the capital, with the government confident there will be no major glitches at the IAEA board. Queries may be raised by several countries which India and the IAEA secretariat officials may have to answer.
But the major worry in the foreign ministry is the next stage when the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group meets to discuss a clean waiver for India. As a country which has refused to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, India needs an exemption as a special case from the NSG.
Though reports from Vienna suggest Pakistan has been persuaded by the US not to push for a vote at the IAEA meet, officials in New Delhi believe it may be a tough call for the new government to take.
“The best case scenario is a consensus among all 35 countries represented on the IAEA board. But we are also prepared for a 34-0 result,” a senior official wanting to remain anonymous said. This means that while Pakistan will push for a vote, it will abstain to register its protest. It will, however, not stall the process, the official said.
There had been criticism in Islamabad some time back of New Delhi’s decision to abort a previous decision to send an emissary to China to discuss the Indo-US nuclear deal and the IAEA and NSG meet. The press in Pakistan alleged it was called off due to Washington’s pressure.
However, whatever Pakistan’s stand, it doesn’t mean the safeguards agreement will not go through. Crossing the NSG hurdle, though, may be tougher because of countries like New Zealand which have a strong non-proliferation agenda.
Nobody has been more closely associated with the anti-nuclear stance than New Zealand’s current prime minister Helen Clark. She was one of the architects of it as a backbencher in the previous Labour government and was among those who had forced the hand of a reluctant government to refuse visits by US warships carrying nuclear weapons. “If Helen Clark is about to quietly endorse some proliferation anywhere in the world, she will be mightily embarrassed,’’ a Western diplomat, who did not wish to be identified, said.
The Prime Minister’s special envoy Shyam Saran is expected to visit New Zealand to explain India’s point of view. Western diplomats said if Saran’s mission is made public it could lead to much pressure from the strong anti-nuclear lobby both inside and outside the government. At the moment there is not much awareness about the India-US
nuclear deal or the decisive role NSG members like New Zealand will play in getting a waiver for India.
