The Hindu Business Line : N- deal will help India meet energy needs: Mulford

New Delhi, Sept. 19 While the Left parties have asked the UPA Government to put on hold the implementation of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal for at least six months, the US has asserted that “time is of the essence” in taking the last steps towards operationalising the pact.

“The US Congress must vote once more on the ‘123’ Agreement, an action best accomplished by this administration in the life of this Congress,” the US Ambassador, Mr David C. Mulford, said at the fourth Indo-US Economic Summit on Tuesday.

New era

He said that “completing” the IAEA safeguards agreement and securing changes in Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) would enable India to pioneer a new era to meet its energy needs. “The bottomline here is that when these final steps are taken, India’s isolation in the global civil nuclear field will end,” he said.

On the agenda for the future, Mr Mulford said: “We have overcome past differences and chart a new course for the future.” The new course in the Indo-US ties involves a comprehensive relationship that touches all fields of human endeavour of which the civil nuclear is “only one part of the larger whole,” he added.

Mr Mulford said that the burgeoning business collaboration between the two countries was based on the foundation of India’s economic reforms over the past 15 years. While American investments in India have grown to nearly $900 million in the current financial year, he said the US has been one of the largest recipients of Indian investment, roughly to one-fifth of its total investments abroad.

In response to Mr Mulford’s speech, the CPI (M) Politbureau issued a statement on Wednesday stating that the nuclear cooperation agreement must not be seen in isolation from the wider strategic alliance being forged with the US. The statement also said:

“The UPA Government should tell the country whether it plans to adhere to this timeframe (indicated by Mr Mulford) or examine the serious objections raised to the agreement and keep in mind the fact that the majority in Parliament is against proceeding with the agreement.”

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