Kudankulam stalemate over, PM to discuss N-safety at Korea summit next week

HYDERABAD

20 MARCH 2012

Echoes of Kudankulam would be felt in distant Seoul next week when heads of state or

government from about 50 countries gather in the South Korean capital for the second

edition of the nuclear safety summit.

On their agenda will not only be nuclear safety but also the future of nuclear as an

energy source, post the Fukushima disaster in Japan in 2011.

While there is a strong popular sentiment against nuclear energy in Japan and a host of

other Asian nations, South Korea and India stand out as an exception where

governments have signalled their intention to pursue the nuclear power path.

The March 26-27 summit, which will be attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,

Chinese President Hu Jintao and US President Barack Obama, among others, can be

expected to discuss issues such as guidelines for nuclear safety.

The US hosted the inaugural nuclear safety summit in 2010.

A week before Dr Singh leaves for Seoul, Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa ended

the eight-month-long uncertainty over the future of the Kudankulam nuclear power project

by giving her go ahead.

Work at the site had been affected by the protests by locals spearheaded by a People's

Movement Against Nuclear Energy, which feared a Fukushima-like catastrophe in

Kudankulam.

The decision to restart work at Kudankulam coincides with China's decision to resume

construction of nuclear power plants. China currently has 13 nuclear power plants with

varied capacities.

China suspended approving new nuclear power projects and launched nationwide safety

inspections at nuclear power stations and facilities in operation and under construction

over safety concerns after the Fukushima nuclear crisis.

According to state-run Beijing Review, China at present has approved 43 nuclear power

plants, with a planned capacity of 200 million KW. These plants are located in 16

provinces, including eight in inland areas.

Incidentally, South Korea is one country where Prime Minister should find himself at

ease. In a poll conducted by worldpublicopinion.org a few years ago, Dr Singh was voted

among the most popular "regional" leaders in South Korea with 47 per cent South Korean

nationals saying they trusted him more than others.

In the 20-country poll, 30 per cent of Chinese leaned positively towards Dr Singh

although the Chinese views of him had become more negative as compared to the

previous poll. He also enjoyed an overwhelming support (83 per cent) among Indians.

In contrast, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari fared poorly on the confidence index. Only

34 per cent of the Pakistanis had confidence in him.

Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh to visit Iran despite regional tensions

Hyderabad

12 March 2012

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's much-anticipated visit to Iran this year can be expected to serve the dual purpose of maintaining India's ties with Iran on an even keel and kickstarting peace talks with Pakistan.

Tehran will host the 16th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in September.

His visit to the Iranian capital will, literally, be couched in nonalignment, coming as it will in the midst of a brewing crisis in West Asia, between Iran and Israel, and between the Shiite and Sunni blocs represented by Iran and Saudi Arabia, respectively.

It will follow the visits by external affairs minister SM Krishna to Israel, and defence minister AK Antony to Saudi Arabia. Also, it will be the first visit by an Indian premier to Iran in over a decade, after Atal Bihari Vajpayee's in 2001.

Prime Minister Singh's proposed visit to Tehran is being described as a manifestation of India's balanced and equitable relationships with various protagonists in the region. A broad-based relationship with the region is a welcome shift in policy, particularly after the narrow-minded pursuit of interests in the run-up to the signing of the India-US nuclear deal.

India and Pakistan are among the 120 members of the NAM. Besides interacting with the host, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, Prime Minister Singh is likely to re-engage his Pakistan counterpart, Yousuf Raza Gilani, on the margins of the summit.

The prime ministers of India and Pakistan last met in November 2011 on the sidelines of the Saarc summit in the Maldives. Incidentally, it was on the margins of the last NAM summit, hosted by Egypt in the Red Sea resort of Sharm-el-Sheikh in 2009, that prime ministers Singh and Gilani agreed to insulate the peace talks from "action on terrorism".

Prime Minister Singh will be hoping that peace with Pakistan will be his legacy, as India heads for elections in 2014. The Singh-Gilani talks will be preceded by Mr Krishna's visit to Islamabad.

The Asian Age, New Delhi

Deccan Chronicle, Bengaluru

India to host Burhanuddin Rabbani, head of Afghan high peace council, this week for discussing peace talks with Taliban

New Delhi

11 July 2011

India will discuss Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai's peace overtures to the Taliban when it hosts Prof Burhanuddin Rabbani, head of the Afghan high peace council, this week.

There was no official word from the government, but it was learnt that Mr Rabbani was expected to hold talks with the Indian leadership on Thursday.

Last year, a Jirga (tribal elders' council) had approved President Karzai's initiative to constitute a panel for starting peace talks with the Taliban. Prof Rabbani was chosen to lead the panel.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had met with Prof Rabbani in Kabul during his visit to Afghanistan in May this year. On the occasion Mr Singh had spoken about India's qualified support to the Afghan government's peace talks with the
Taliban.

India would not stand in the way of the talks provided certain red lines were adhered to: the peace process should be Afghan-led and Afghan-driven; the Taliban elements must have renounced violence and severed all links with the hardcore terrorists; and they should accept the constitution of Afghanistan.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meeting Burhanuddin Rabbani, head of

the Afghan high peace council, in Kabul in May 2011

Recently, President Karzai and former US defence secretary Robert Gates confirmed that preliminary contacts had been made with certain Taliban elements. According to reports, contacts had been established with Tayyab Agha, a former personal aide to Mullah Omar, and Motasim Agha Jan, Omar's son-in-law.

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has since described it as a necessary but unpleasant attempt to achieve a semblance of stability in Afghanistan. Clinton's British counterpart, William Hague, in turn, has said that the UK played a key role in helping initiate the "distasteful" talks with the Taliban.

The situation in Afghanistan is expected to be one of the key points of discussion in the India - US strategic dialogue, which will be chaired by external affairs minister SM Krishna and Ms Clinton in New Delhi on July 19.

After US and Russia, France reassures India on clean NSG waiver

New Delhi

1 July 2011

After the United States and Russia, France has iterated its commitment to full civil

nuclear cooperation with India.

The French government has said that the Nuclear Suppliers Group's (NSG's) recent

decision, to bar transfer of sensitive enrichment and reprocessing technologies to non-

NPT signatories, does not undermine the waiver granted to India in September 2008.

"The decision taken by the NSG is not a measure targeting any particular State. This

decision is the fruit of prolonged discussions initiated in 2004. Coming after the decision

of exemption from the full-scope safeguards clause, adopted in favour of India in

September 2008, it does not undermine the principles of this exemption," Jerome

Bonnafont, the French ambassador to India, said.

In a statement, the envoy also said, "France confirms that this NSG decision in no way

undermines the parameters of our bilateral cooperation, and is committed to the full

implementation of our cooperation agreement on the development of peaceful uses of

nuclear energy signed on September 30, 2008."

Bonnafont emphasised that France was strongly committed to the development of an innovative, broad-based and dynamic civilian nuclear cooperation with India.

The NSG held its plenary at Noordwijk in the Netherlands in June.

Further, Bonnafont said President Nicolas Sarkozy of France announced his support for India's membership of four multilateral export control regimes during his visit to India in December 2010, and
France iterated its "full and complete support" to India's membership of the NSG in
its meeting which concluded on June 24.

In September 2008, France became the first country to sign a bilateral civilian nuclear

accord with India after the NSG granted a landmark waiver to New Delhi, reopening

global civilian nuclear commerce after a gap of 34 years. The French envoy's assurance

on his country's commitment to full civilian nuclear cooperation came a day after

outgoing US ambassador Timothy Roemer stressed that Washington was firmly

committed to NSG's clean waiver to India.

SM Krishna seeks a meeting with Suu Kyi, but prospects dim

New Delhi

19 June 2011

External affairs minister SM Krishna has sought a meeting with Burmese pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, but New Delhi would not confirm Sunday whether its request has been accepted. Mr Krishna, accompanied by foreign secretary Nirupama Rao and other officials, will visit Burma on June 20 and 21. The minister last visited Burma in December 2009.

The uncertainty about a possible meeting with Ms Suu Kyi was attributed to the terms of an agreement she was understood to have reached with the Burmese military regime prior to her release from house arrest in November 2010, one of which was that she would not meet foreign government leaders. If the Krishna-Suu Kyi meeting does take place, it will be the first high-level contact with the Burmese opposition leader in over two decades.

A government source said Mr Krishna could be expected to discuss issues such as security, connectivity, and infrastructure projects in what will be the first visit to Burma by an Indian minister after the military junta handed over power on March 30 this year to a nominally civilian government. Specifically, the source said, New Delhi would be keen to understand the new Burmese government's priorities and outlook.

Over the past few months foreign governments and organisations have reached out to Burma by sending special envoys or other officials. A European Union delegation was expected to visit Burma at around the same time as the Indian delegation. United States Republican senator John McCain visited Burma in the first week of June, and United
Nations secretary general's special envoy Vijay Nambiar and US deputy assistant secretary of state Joseph Yun were there in May.

President Thein Sein of Burma visited China in May, and it is likely that he would visit New Delhi at the invitation of the Indian government. Than Shwe was the last Burmese leader to visit India in July 2010.

Meanwhile, Ms Suu Kyi celebrated her birthday Sunday in freedom for the first time in many years. In a video message that was screened at a function organised by Burmese democracy activists in New Delhi Sunday evening, Ms Suu Kyi urged Indians to help restore human rights and democracy in Burma.