India on Thursday secured Mexico’s support for its membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) that controls access to sensitive nuclear technology but as the 48-nation club met in Vienna, China continued to oppose India’s bid, Indian media reported.
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India and Mexico have agreed to elevate their “Privileged Partnership” into a strategic one during talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto here during which Mexico also extended support for India’s NSG bid.
Commenting on the Indo-US Joint Statement issued during Modi’s visit to the US, the Communist Party of India-Marxist said it amounted to abandoning New Delhi’s independent position on foreign policy.
BJP president said, the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has brought the glory to the 1.25 billion people of India by historic address to a joint sitting of the US Congress.
He added: “We both feel that our growing convergence on worldwide issues allows us to join our capacities to strengthen global regimes of strategic importance”.
Modi received US President Barack Obama’s support for admission to the NSG when he visited Washington before his brief trip to Mexico. Membership of the grouping will help India significantly expand its atomic energy sector.
India’s NSG membership issue comes at a time of deepening divisions between China and the USA over the disputed South China Sea. India is not a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), a precursor to NSG membership.
India has already got the support of other major NSG countries, including France, Russia and Britain. India has been pushing for membership of the bloc for last few years and had formally moved its application on May 12.
The development comes as India is poised to become member of another crucial multi-lateral export control regime – the 34-member Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), which could, in fact, hasten India gaining entry to the NSG. This shows America’s leaning towards India to strengthen its regional power amid rising tensions with China and strain in ties with Pakistan.
Modi paid tribute to the role of Congress, including through a civilian nuclear deal in 2008 that lifted US export restrictions on nuclear technology to India and which is hoped to lead to a contract by mid-2017 for the construction of six power reactors by USA -based Westinghouse Electric Co. With that, he called for greater cooperation between the USA and India to counter this common enemy to humanity and “greater isolation for those who harbor, support and sponsor terrorists… terrorism must be delegitimized”. He said that the NSG membership is extremely important for us in terms of our energy security and strategic needs.
No other than Modi’s defence minister Manohar Parrikar has recently described that the military cooperation has become the “central pillar” of the India-US relationship.
“Information technology, energy, pharmaceuticals, and automotive industries are among key growth areas of our commercial linkages”. Modi thanked the President for his country’s support. Discussions with the two bodies are underway.
The prime minister touched upon India’s assistance to Afghanistan, a common point of interest for both nations in addition to neighboring Pakistan, which has had a contentious relationship with India since the two nations split in 1947. Modi’s gambit will also cost India’s quest for permanent seat at the UN Security Council.
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“India in general has a very insular view of the world, and you can not be a great nation and aspire to be a great power without sharing in the responsibilities”, Menendez said.
