The NSG remains divided over non-NPT countries like India becoming its members, China’s Foreign Ministry had said yesterday less than 24 hours after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj exuded hope that “we would be able to convince China to support our entry to the NSG”.
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“We envisaged growth in FDI and Skill India programmes through various foreign visits, and have moved ahead with various nations in nuclear agreements”, Swaraj said. China, she claimed, was not protesting India’s membership bid, but was only talking of criteria and procedure. But she said, “it is India’s track record, instead of criteria that should be discussed”.
During the week-long deliberations at the meeting, the member countries will also take up the membership applications of Pakistan and India.
Chinese analysts have spoken of India’s NSG quest, and US President Barack Obama’s support to it, as potentially hitting a raw nerve in Pakistan.
She further said, the government was drafting a policy to help persecuted minorities in various countries. India’s entry would inspire investors’ confidence and end uncertainty, the minister explained.
An annual plenary meeting of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) has begun in Seoul, South Korea.
Besides strong support from the US, India has received backing from Russian Federation and the UK.
Her comments came against the backdrop of China’s strong opposition to India’s membership of the premier club on the ground that it was not a signatory to Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying was quoted as saying, “The inclusion of non-NPT members has never been a topic on the agenda of NSG meetings”. However, it has been batting for its close ally Pakistan’s entry if NSG extends any exemption for India. She also said, India was in touch with top authorities in Bangladesh after a priest of Rama Krishna Mission in Dhaka received death threat.
India also “meets the last requirement and was admitted to membership of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) early this month”, it said.
“The Indian minister should not take it as the PM’s personal interest”, he elaborated.
On Syria, Swaraj said, India, like Russian Federation, supported a peaceful resolution of the issue of whether Bashar al-Assad should be replaced, to be decided by the Syrian people themselves, and expressed support for the Geneva talks, when the ISIS terrorists have been quelled.
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The Indian foreign minister reiterated that Nepal and India share a historical, cultural and geographical ties, and that bilateral exchanges and visits have strengthened the relations between the two countries.
