Obama announces nuclear ties 鈥榖reakthrough鈥 on trip to India
Print Edition
IN a glow of bonhomie, US President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a breakthrough on nuclear trade yesterday, a step that both sides hope will help establish an enduring strategic partnership.
Obama said the countries had made progress on two issues holding up commercial civil nuclear cooperation, one of the major irritants in bilateral ties.
“We are committed to moving towards full implementation,” Obama told a joint news conference with Modi in the Indian capital New Delhi. “This is an important step that shows how we can work together to elevate our relationship.”
The agreement resolved differences over the liability of suppliers to India in the event of a nuclear accident and US demands on tracking the whereabouts of material supplied to the country, US ambassador to India Richard Verma told reporters.
“Ultimately it’s up to the companies to go forward, but the two governments came to an understanding,” he added.
Signalling his determination to take ties to a higher level, Modi broke with protocol to meet and bear-hug Obama as he landed in New Delhi earlier in the day. It was a remarkable spectacle given that, just a year ago, Modi was persona non grata in Washington and denied a visa to the United States.
After a working lunch that included kebabs made with lotus stem, figs and spices, the two leaders got down to talks to finalise agreements on climate change, renewable energy, taxation and defence cooperation.
But Modi cautioned that work was still needed to create a solid partnership between the two countries.
“We have to convert a good start into lasting progress. This requires translating our vision into sustained action and concrete achievements,” he said.
Earlier, the two leaders walked and talked together in an elegant garden and sat outside over tea. Modi, who sold tea on a railway platform as a child, poured a cup for Obama.
Obama will be the first US president to attend India’s Republic Day parade, an annual show of military might long associated with the anti-Americanism of the Cold War, and will host a radio show with Modi.
His presence at today’s parade at Modi’s personal invitation is the latest revival in a roller-coaster relationship between the two largest democracies that just a year ago was in tatters.
Police and soldiers lined the roads of New Delhi, where Obama was met with a guard of honor and a 21-gun salute in a ceremony at the presidential palace.
Up to 40,000 security personnel have been deployed for the visit and 15,000 new closed-circuit surveillance cameras have been installed in the capital.
Obama, the first sitting US president to visit India twice, also enjoyed a close friendship with Modi’s predecessor Manmohan Singh, who in 2008 staked his premiership on a controversial deal that made India the sixth “legitimate” atomic power and marked a high point in Indo-US relations.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔＄粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
