Bush-Singh breakfast key to 145;partnership146;

In the teeth of domestic criticism over 8216;8216;moral hypocrisy8217;8217; of the US, and India8217;s 8216;8216;commitment8217;14...

In the teeth of domestic criticism over 8216;8216;moral hypocrisy8217;8217; of the US, and India8217;s 8216;8216;commitment8217;8217; to the non-aligned movement, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will unveil his first major foreign policy initiative tomorrow when he signs a joint statement with President Bush. The statement includes a US commitment to transfer nuclear high technology and galvanise trade in dual-use items, prohibited currently.

Singh will have breakfast with Bush at the opulent Waldorf Astoria hotel in Manhattan where the American delegation usually stays during its annual pilgrimage to the UN General Assembly.

An announcement on the 8216;Next Steps in Strategic Partnership8217; NSSP was made over the weekend. The breakfast encounter is also likely to touch upon predictable issues like the ongoing dialogue with Pakistan, combatting terrorism and the like.

Few realise though, that over the last three months, the Prime Minister has pushed for the NSSP in the face of opposition within the establishment which often tried to shoot down the idea 8212; first put together between former prime minister A.B. Vajpayee and George Bush in January 8212; on the grounds that New Delhi should not be seen to be doing business with a country that had dabbled in such 8216;8216;moral hypocrisy.8217;8217; Moreover, there was India8217;s major commitment to the non-aligned movement to think of.

At stake was an Indian commitment that it would not transfer the highly sophisticated technology it got from the US to third countries. This was especially key for technology for IAEA-safeguarded nuclear power plants and space organisations.

Through the debate between NSSP detractors and protagonists, sources said, the Prime Minister asked one question: Would it be easier for India to get better access to high-technology if it signed a guarantee that it would not transfer these 8216;8216;dual-use items8217;8217; to other countries?

Top officials from the Atomic Energy Commission, ISRO, DRDO, the Foreign Office, Defence ministry and Home ministry debated the matter at home. In Washington, meetings at all levels that involved US Commerce secretary Ken Juster, slowly finalised the matter.

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Tuesday8217;s breakfast is significant for another reason: While Singh will hardly raise the subject of the rise and fall in voter surveys 8212; that reflect a badly divided America which goes to polls in November 8212; the fact remains that the PM will also be meeting 8216;8216;candidate8217;8217; Bush, aiming to be re-elected to the world8217;s most powerful office.

Singh pronounced himself grateful for the time and the opportunity on board Air India One only yesterday, describing it as an 8216;8216;indication of the importance the US Government places in India under Bush.8217;8217;

But the PM has also been careful not to be seen to be taking sides in what is already a rather vicious presidential campaign. So he will meet Hilary Clinton, a key Democrat and Senator from New York, and perhaps speak to her husband, Bill Clinton, currently recuperating from his heart surgery. A meeting with Democratic presidential candidate is being ruled out because John Kerry is campaigning elsewhere in America.