NEW DELHI: Ahead of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tour of the United States starting June 4th, the Indian government has officially submitted its application for entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
The Pakistan government too has submitted a similar application much-ahead of India. The first big-test for India will be on June 9- 10, when the members of the current Nuclear Suppliers Group meet in Vienna. A preliminary discussion would be held in this meeting before the NSG Plenary meeting on June 23-24, where the India’s membership issue is likely to come up for taking a decision over it.
The process for India’s acquisition of NSG membership has started in April itself, when the sub-continent country handed over the ‘adherence to NSG’ document to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
India’s approach around the NSG-issue shows that it has been moving forward with a well planned strategy. This can be proved by the President Pranab Mukherjee’s tour of China on May 24th, probably to persuade China over agreeing on India’s entry into the NSG. It has been reported that though China gave no clear response, it has agreed to get officials from both the sides talking to each other.
The real diplomatic battle of India will begin on June 4th,when the Indian Prime Minister leaves for the United States in order to make sure that its entry into the NSG will not be halted. India looks to send out a strong message through the United States to set a tune for the NSG meet. The Indian Prime Minister is also expected to meet other leaders of the NSG in order to get their support well before the Plenary meeting to be held in Seoul.