Mulford says common interest is bringing the two countries together
NEW DELHI: With back-to-back visits last week of British prime minister Gordon Brown and French president Nicholas Sarkozy, both going out of their way to woo India, the US which sees itself as the original path finder of new India re-asserted the importance of Washington’s relations with New Delhi on Monday.
“There has been a major transformation in Indo-US relations…the greater part of it is civil…nuclear is just one aspect of our ties,” US envoy to India David Mulford told reporters on Monday.
He went on to say that civil or rather people to people inter action in business, education, culture and other spheres would dominate India-US ties in the future. He said this is what Washington had with Britain and other allies.
There was nothing much ambassador Mulford had to say, but perhaps the realm of newsprint devoted last week to Brown and Sarkozy made the US feel left out.
On the Indo-US civil nuclear deal pegged earlier as being at the heart of transformed ties with India, Mulford refused to go into details, except to say that the Washington was respectful of India’s political process.
“The key decision taken by none other than president Bush himself was not to interfere ....we will wait and keep in touch,” the ambassador explained.
He quoted foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee’s words that “the Indo-US deal is India’s passport to the world.” But he insisted, once again that “time is of essence” and there was the need to move swiftly to get the safety protocol with the International Atomic Energy Agency wrapped up. Only after this is done, can the Nuclear Suppliers Group go ahead with the waiver.
Though Mulford did not directly say that the pact would not go through when a new administration takes over, he made it clear that it was better to get it passed while George Bush was in office.
“If the processes are not finished during the term of this administration, then we must understand that there will be a new administration in the US and also a new Congress,”
Mulford said, adding that the nuclear deal issue may not then be taken up till the new government settles down in office.
By then, it will be time for Indian elections scheduled for 2009.
The whole pact will be up in the air. “There are practical problems there. It is desirable that we move forward. But we are not pushing,” Mulford said when asked about the delay.
He went on to explain in great detail how the Bush administration had worked through a politically sensitive issue like non proliferation to give an exemption for nuclear trade with India, through the Hyde act. He spoke of the bipartisan vote for the nuclear agreement.
The point of Mulford’s interaction with reporters on Monday was to give the signal that Britain and France may be India’s friends but Washington will remain India’s most important partner.
“Our interests have converged and there is no going back to the previous cool ties. Common interests are bringing us together,” Mulford added.
g_seema@dnaindia.net
