New Delhi, Sep 6 (IANS) India will thank New Zealand, a non-proliferation hawk, for supporting a clean waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) for New Delhi when Governor General Anand Satyanand comes here Monday on his maiden visit to the country. Satyanand, the first person of Indian origin to occupy the top post in that country, will be in India on a week-long visit.

“This would be the first visit of a governor general of New Zealand to India,” the external affairs ministry said here while announcing the visit.

The visit was announced by the ministry soon after the 45-nation NSG Saturday granted New Delhi a historic waiver.

Satyanand will meet President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani and discuss with them a host of bilateral and regional issues.

He will also go to Mumbai and Hyderabad.

Manmohan Singh is likely to thank Satyanand for his country’s support for a clean waiver for India in the NSG.

New Zealand was among the top three sceptical countries in the NSG that also included Austria and Ireland who were opposed to granting New Delhi a waiver without more stringent non-proliferation conditions.

In the end, after intense negotiations lasting three days, New Zealand went along with the rest of the NSG in approving by consensus a clean exemption for India.