Dr Singh visit to Washington is seen in the global order as an important step for the two democracy to play important role in Asian and worlds environmental and food crisis.Two leaders are to take stock of matter sepcail attention to Indian subcontinent and matters pertaining to trade to diplomacy.
India and US are keen to implement the Civil Nuclear Deal by resolving the pending issues. Briefing the media on the visit of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to Washington begining tomorrow, the Foreign Secretary Mrs. Nirupama Rao said the opening of Nuclear Commerce will benefit India and open business avenues for US Companies in India. She said, that the remaining issues like Liability legislation, licensing of US firms, and re-processing of spent fuel for utilisation by India will be sorted out step by step.India and the US are expected to sign MoU on counter-terrorism and some other pacts during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Washington.In reply, to a querry on Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq’s statement referring to joint statement by US and China that China has a stake in regional peace as certain parts of Kashmir are under its control, the Foreign Secretary said, that India does not accept this view. She however, said that government has no objection to Kashmiri leaders visit to any foreign country.
The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will be attending the first ever State Dinner hosted by Obama administration on Thanks Giving Day. He will be in Washington from 22nd to 26th of this month. Following this, the Prime Minister will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting [CHOGM], in Port of Spain from 27th for two days.
Thakur reports that when the two leaders sit down at the White House next week, unlike in the past, their discussion would no longer be confined to bilateral issues. They are expected to discuss a range of regional and global issues including Af-Pak, climate, and are also likely to discuss Obama’s recent trip to Asia, particularly China,besides identifying ways to deepen strategic relationship. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh’s visit to Washington as Barack Obama’s first state guest is expected to showcase the significance the US President attaches to Indo-US relationship, with global issues including climate and Afghanistan to feature prominently along with bilateral ties. Obama has identified India as a natural ally of the US and wants to take the Indo-US relationship to a new level. US has been putting a lot of emphasis on educational partnership between the two countries and in this perspective Singh-Obama Knowledge initiative is also likely to be launched.