INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
US has backed India's NSG membership
The Indo-US nuclear deal was signed nearly 10 years ago.Washington: India has not been able to secure membership of the Nuclear Suppliers
Group because of China's veto, a senior Trump Administration official said today, asserting that the United States will continue to advocate
for New Delhi's membership in the elite grouping as it meets all the criteria.India has been seeking entry into the 48-member elite nuclear
club, which controls nuclear trade, but China has repeatedly stonewalled its bid.While India, which is backed by the US and a number of
western countries has garnered the support of a majority of the group's members, China has stuck to its stand that new members should sign
the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), making India's entry difficult as the group is guided by the consensus principle
India is not a signatory to the NPT."Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a consensus-based organisation
India has not been able to secure membership as a result of opposition from China," Alice Wells, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of
State for South and Central Asia, told a Washington audience."We have deemed that we're not going to limit our own cooperation with India
Of course, we moved ahead with a STA One authorisation and we certainly believe that India meets all of the qualifications of the nuclear
supplier's group and will continue to actively advocate on behalf of India's membership," Ms Wells said in response to a question.She said
that by granting Strategic Trade Authorisation (STA-1) status, the US has placed India in the inner circle of America's closest allies
"It reflects just the intimacy of the strategic partnership," she said in response to a question at the Center for Strategic and
International Studies (CSIS), a top American think-tank.The senior State Department Official hoped that the nuclear deal with India would
finally see light of the day with the approaching of its 10th anniversary."With Westinghouse coming out of bankruptcy, we now have an
opportunity to cross the finish line to really culminate in what was this historic process that began a decade ago to be able to have one of
our premier companies provide in some of the safest and cleanest fuel that will benefit, tens of millions of Indian citizens," she
said."It's a really another exciting chapter that hopefully we can close
Certainly, we will be supporting Westinghouse as it continues its conversations with India," she said.Former US President George W Bush, had
during his tenure, signed the legislation on the Indo-US nuclear deal
It was then approved by the US Congress, and made into law on October 8, 2008.
