Indians safe in Syria, no travel advisory for now

From Left, the clipping from The Asian Age; the International page of the Bengaluru edition of Deccan Chronicle; and the clipping of the article from the edition

New Delhi

4 August 2011

Some Indian nationals living in Syria have shifted from the city of Hama, which has witnessed protests, to Aleppo, the largest city after the capital Damascus.

Similarly, a few Indians living in the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor have moved to safer areas in the same province following the recent unrest.

There are about 1,000 Indian nationals in Syria and all of them were reported to be safe. There were no reports of casualties or injuries to Indian nationals.

A majority of the Indian nationals, about 600 of them, including their families, are located at the Shia shrine of Sayidda Zeinab, on the outskirts of Damascus, where they learn the religious scriptures.

Some 300-odd Indians live in Damascus, and another 35, mostly oil workers, in the province of Deir ez-Zor. The remaining Indian nationals are scattered across Syria.

Unlike some countries, India does not intend to issue a travel advisory warning its nationals to leave Syria or to not to travel to Syria. Their evacuation is ruled out for now.

New Delhi has sought to justify its stand by saying that its assessment is different from that of some other countries whose decisions are clouded by political factors. It has determined, using its mission in Damascus and other means, that the situation inside Syria is not as bad as it is made out to be by a section of media, mostly based in the US and Europe. Also, the casualty figures are exaggerated by the particular section of media.

There were only pockets of protests, and the capital Damascus and Aleppo, two of Syria's largest cities, have remained quiet. Moreover, the families of diplomats of some countries, who had been asked to leave Syria following the outbreak of violence, were reported to be returning to Damascus. At the same time, India does not anticipate a problem in relocating its nationals from Syria if the situation worsens because their population is small, unlike Egypt, Libya or Yemen.

The sentiments of India, which is the president of the United Nations security council (UNSC) for the month of August, are shared by some other non-permanent UNSC members who have since issued a presidential statement, as opposed to a resolution, voicing its concern over the developments in Syria.

Sanctions won't help, a combative Syrian vice foreign minister Faisal Mekdad warns US allies; Damascus banks on IBSA support in UNSC

Syrian vice foreign minister Faisal Mekdad

New Delhi

2 August 2011

Dismissing the latest tranche of sanctions as futile, Syria has said that the European Union (EU) is mistaken if it believes it can extract "political concessions" from the government headed by President Bashar al-Assad.

The EU on Tuesday added Syrian defence minister Ali Habib Mahmud and four others to its sanctions blacklist.

In an exclusive interview to Ramesh Ramachandran in New Delhi, a combative Syrian vice foreign minister Faisal Mekdad accused the US, EU and Israel of "provoking" violence in his country and attempting to do a Libya in Syria.

"It is very clear they want to repeat the same aggression committed by the NATO against Libya on Syria," Mr Mekdad said, alluding to moves by the US and its European allies to revive a draft United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution condemning Syria for its crackdown on protesters.

He is reasonably sanguine that the IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa), all three of whom currently are non-permanent UNSC members, along with Russia and China, would not encourage adoption of the resolution.

"What prevented the Security Council for the last three months from adopting a resolution is the understanding shown by the friends of Syria. I think this time their [the US and its European allies] attempts will fail again," he said.

The only time Mr Mekdad struck an apparently conciliatory note was when he said that Syria was "ready to cooperate with Europe" provided the terms of engagement were "on equal basis with mutual respect and understanding".

However, he was categorical that "if the objective of the US and its European allies was to help Israel preserve its hegemony and exercise its hegemony on the entire region then they are wrong."

"... what we are looking for is just and comprehensive peace where Israel withdraws from the occupied Arab territories from West Bank and Gaza, from the Syrian Golan and from southern Lebanon, and establishment of an independent Palestine state. This is the way we can establish [peace] but their support of Israel and their attempts to give Israel the peace and the land will lead nowhere."

Mr Mekdad noted that Syria was paying a price for being "the last post of resistance against European, American and Israeli pressures."

He added: "Any meeting between post-Hosni Mubarak Egypt and Syria is very dangerous for American and Israeli and Western interests in the region. That is why they have to destroy Syria before it establishes good, normal relations with new Egypt."

Mr Mekdad, who called on external affairs minister SM Krishna on Monday, said the "help and support received from India at international fora is very important."

India on Monday assumed the rotating presidency of the UNSC for the month of August.

Calling for "strategic" ties between India and West Asia generally and Syria in particular, Mr Mekdad said, "Syria and developing countries should now look to the east rather than to the west [and we] need to develop South-South cooperation."

Clippings from The Asian Age (top), Deccan Chronicle's Bengaluru edition (bottom left), and from Deccan Chronicle's Hyderabad edition (bottom right)

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India says CBMs will be a success only if Pakistan creates right atmosphere by taking prompt 26/11 action; Fai's arrest a "very important development"

New Delhi

23 July 2011

The "climate" for confidence building measures (CBMs) and people-to-people contacts across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir would be best served if Pakistan creates the "right atmosphere" for a dialogue by bringing the 26/11 trial to a transparent and expeditious conclusion, an Indian government source said.

The observation should be seen in the context of the forthcoming talks between external affairs minister SM Krishna and his Pakistan counterpart, Ms Hina Rabbani Khar, to be held in New Delhi on July 27.

India was expected to announce some CBMs, some unilateral, others bilateral on a reciprocal basis, after the Krishna-Khar meeting, the agenda of which would be firmed up on July 26 when foreign secretary Nirupama Rao meets with her counterpart, Salman Bashir.

The CBMs could extend to increases in the number of days for cross-LoC trade and duration of entry permits, improvement in the Srinagar - Muzaffarabad and Poonch - Rawalakot bus services, and facilities such as telephone fortraders. Islamabad was hesitant about introducing banking services for traders.

By October, Pakistan was likely to shift from a positive list of items that can be imported from India to a system of trade based on negative list of items. In other words, Pakistan would effectively be implementing Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status for India.

Some items on the agenda of the India - Pakistan Joint Commission, such as agriculture, education and telecommunications, could fall in the purview of future discussions.

The source maintained that no dramatic, big-bang announcements should be anticipated. Even if the bilateral relations were to improve incrementally, India would at least be satisfied at having pulled the dialogue out of life support, post-26/11, and draw confidence from the fact that the sequence of bilateral meetings was sustained despite the odds.

It was pointed out that India would be willing to talk on "all" issues, including, but not limited to, Jammu and Kashmir. However, the source noted, it takes two hands to clap, and Pakistan needs to take a call on that.

Meanwhile, New Delhi has described the arrest of Ghulam Nabi Fai as a "very significant development". Fai is accused of having links to a decades-long effort that allegedly funnelled millions of dollars from the Inter Services Intelligence (IS), Pakistan's external intelligence agency, to fan anti-India sentiments and push Pakistan's subversive agenda over the issue of Jammu and Kashmir.

New Delhi did not discount the possibility that Fai's arrest could have something to do with the recent tensions in the US - Pakistan relations, but from India's point of view the "die has been cast".

The source said it was a "good thing" that enlightenment has finally come to the US, and it will hopefully come to other countries such as Britain and Belgium, too. Certain individuals and groups are known to be carrying out anti-India activities from London and Brussels.

Fai's arrest also validates India's position that the separatists' agenda in Jammu and Kashmir receives most of its sustenance from Pakistan. In the same breath, the source said that Pakistan's foreign minister should seek to impress upon the separatists she would be meeting in New Delhi to speak the language of peace and reconciliation.


Stapled visas by China upsets India, again

India has expressed disappointment over the issue of stapled visas by China to five sportspersons from Arunachal Pradesh in spite of a recent understanding reached between their officials.

"We are still searching for a de-stapler. We are obviously not amused" by the fact that they continue to issue stapled visas for our nationals, a government source said.

Recently, the Chinese embassy in New Delhi issued stapled visas to five karate players from Arunachal Pradesh, a step that ensured that they could not take part in an international championship in China as these documents were not valid for travel.

The action by China came close on the heels of the claims made by officials here that the issue has been resolved and was also reflected in the resumption of the Indo-China defence exchanges.

As Krishna heads to Indonesia, Hillary Clinton asks India to counter China's aggression with assertiveness; Manmohan Singh to skip Commonwealth summit

New Delhi

20 July 2011

India was expected to continue its recently concluded discussions with the US on the Chinese aggression in east- and south-east Asia, with other countries in Indonesia this week.

External affairs minister SM Krishna will travel to Bali for the ninth India-Asean post-ministerial conference, the East Asia Summit (EAS) foreign ministers' consultations, and the Asean Regional Forum ministerial meeting on Friday and Saturday.

The situation in east Asia was discussed in the India-US strategic dialogue in New Delhi on Tuesday. The issue figured in US secretary of state Hillary Clinton's speech in Chennai on Wednesday, in which she urged India to be assertive in Asia.

"India's leadership has the potential to positively shape the future of the Asia-Pacific [and] we encourage you not just to look east, but continue to engage and act east as well," Ms Clinton said.

"The US has always been a Pacific power because of our very great blessing of geography, and India, straddling the waters from the Indian to Pacific Oceans, is with us a steward of these waterways".

She reminded New Delhi that with increased power comes increased responsibility. "As India takes on a larger role throughout the Asia-Pacific, it is also taking on new responsibilities including the duty to speak out against violations of universal human rights" in Burma, she said.

Ms Clinton and other foreign ministers, including Hina Rabbani Khar of Pakistan, would participate in the Bali meetings.

Ms Rabbani-Khar was scheduled to visit India next week for talks with Mr Krishna but they could exchange pleasantries on the margins of their meetings in Bali. However, the prime ministers of India and Pakistan would have to wait till the Saarc summit in Maldives in November for a possible meeting.

Indian and Pakistani leaders could have met in Perth, Australia, on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in October but Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has opted out of attending it. In his place, Vice President Hamid Ansari would be leading the Indian delegation.

Hillary Clinton - SM Krishna strategic dialogue long on intent, short on strategy; US makes it clear to India that it will not dump Pakistan

Indian delegation led by external affairs minister SM Krishna and US delegation headed by Hillary Clinton participating in the second India - US strategic dialogue at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Tuesday, 19 July 2011

New Delhi

19 July 2011

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton interspersed her conversations in New Delhi with ifs and buts, conveying to a discerning Indian audience that the US was hedging on its commitments and, in the process, reinforcing a suspicion that the second edition of the India-US strategic dialogue was long on intent but short on strategy.

Ms Clinton's remarks during the course of her talks with external affairs minister SM Krishna on Tuesday, and a joint media event which followed it, were littered with qualifications: The US will support full civil nuclear cooperation with India but the bilateral pact has to be "enforceable and actionable in all regards"; the US stands by the clean Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) waiver to India but the Indian nuclear liability law needs to be aligned with global practices; and, the US government cannot tolerate safe havens for terrorists anywhere but "we do see Pakistan as a key ally" in the war on terror and "we want a long-term relationship with" it.

There was no express commitment from Ms Clinton to either sell or to allow the sale of enrichment and reprocessing technologies to India following the NSG decision to bar their sale to non-NPT signatories such as India. There was no mention of it in the joint statement either. All she would venture to say in response to a question posed to her at the media interaction was that Washington supports the September 2008 clean waiver for India and it will push for India's membership of multilateral export control regimes such as the NSG.

Instead, Ms Clinton hastened to remind India of its commitment to ensure a level playing field for US companies seeking to enter the Indian nuclear energy sector. She voiced Washington's desire to see the Indian nuclear liability law tweaked to protect American corporate interests.

"We would encourage engagement with the International Atomic Energy Agency to ensure that the liability regime that India adopts by law fully conforms with the international requirements under the convention[.] We are committed to [the nuclear pact.] But we do expect it to be enforceable and actionable in all regards," Ms Clinton noted.

She also reminded New Delhi to ratify the Convention on Supplementary Compensation by the end of 2011. The treaty will allow foreign companies supplying nuclear material and technology to India to tap into a global corpus of funds in order to pay damages in the event of a nuclear accident.

Amplifying Ms Clinton's remarks, the joint statement said that the participation of US nuclear energy firms in India should be on the basis of "mutually acceptable technical and commercial terms and conditions that enable a viable tariff regime for electricity generated."

Dwelling on regional issues, Ms Clinton said that Pakistan has "a special obligation to [cooperate] transparently, fully and urgently" in the interest of justice for the victims of the 26/11 terrorist attacks in Mumbai. She iterated that the US will continue to urge Pakistan to bring the 26/11 terrorists to justice but she qualified it by saying that "there is a limit to what both the United States and India can do".

Ms Clinton said that sale of defence technologies will help the Indian and American militaries to work together on maritime security, combating piracy, and providing relief to the victims of natural disasters. She also pushed for market access, reduction of trade barriers, and US investments in India, indicating that Washington viewed its ties with India in transactional, not strategic, terms.

For India's part, Mr Krishna sought to impress upon the American delegation that it was necessary for the US to factor in Afghanistan's ground realities and work closely with President Hamid Karzai's government so that conditions could be created where terrorists did not make any more advances in Afghanistan.

Mr Krishna said that India and the US had agreed to resume negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty. He urged the US to consider a "totalisation agreement" with India for the purpose of avoiding double taxation of income with respect to social security taxes. The agreement is essential for determining whether an Indian national is subject to the US social security or medicare tax or Indian social security taxes.

A bilateral aviation safety agreement and a memorandum of understanding on cyber security were the two tangible outcomes of the India-US dialogue.

Ms Clinton called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and met with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, and national security adviser Shivshankar Menon, among others. She would be visiting Chennai on Wednesday.

Japan to suspend N-talks with India, puts Manmohan Singh's ambitious nuclear programme in jeopardy

New Delhi

16 July 2011

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's ambitious nuclear energy
programme risks being grounded even before it could take off with Japan
signalling its intention to suspend negotiations with India, and other
countries, for sale of nuclear-power equipment and technology.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan of Japan has indicated his personal preference
for phasing out nuclear power in his country. It could not have come at
a worse time for Prime Minister Singh, whose government is reeling
under the effects of a recent Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) decision to
restrict the sale of enrichment and reprocessing (ENR) technologies.
His government is also battling pressure from American government and
companies alike, to cushion the impact of Indias civil nuclear
liability law on the suppliers. That and the growing climate of
disenchantment with nuclear energy following the Fukushima disaster in
Japan could potentially unravel Prime Minister Singhs nuclear gambit
for which he has had to invest significant political capital in his
first term in office.

Japan needs to sign bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement with India

and have it ratified by its parliament before it can export nuclear
power technology and equipment. Compounding the problem for India is
that a delay in wrapping up the India-Japan bilateral nuclear pact will
pose a handicap for companies, both Japanese and foreign. Two major US
firms, General Electric and Westinghouse, are either partly or wholly
owned by Japanese companies. Even the French state-owned nuclear power
group Areva has a tie-up with Mitsubishi of Japan.

India is keen to tap Japans experience of constructing the Rokkasho
reprocessing plant with indigenous technology in 1992. India has
concluded negotiations for a reprocessing pact with the US which will
allow setting up of at least two dedicated facilities for reprocessing
US-origin spent nuclear fuel under IAEA safeguards. India and Japan
share similarities in their strategies for the development of nuclear
power. Both have adopted a closed fuel cycle, which entails management
of toxic waste by reprocessing the spent nuclear fuel. Also, they have
opted for a comprehensive fuel cycle, from mining to reprocessing. The
Rokkasho plant has built-in IAEA monitoring equipment and other
advanced design features and India can do with Japan's experience for
designing a state of the art, modern reprocessing facility here.

India and Japan have held three rounds of negotiations so far. Both
sides exchanged views on various aspects related to nuclear energy as
recently as April this year, during foreign secretary Nirupama Raos
talks in Tokyo. Both sides will continue to discuss the way forward
for cooperation in this sphere, a statement issued towards the end of

her visit had said.

Mumbai fallout: Suspects not known, but Delhi is certain peace talks with Pakistan will continue

New Delhi

14 July 2011

The latest serial blasts in Mumbai may or may not be the handiwork of Pakistani elements inimical to rapprochement with India, but Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has made it categorical that peace talks with Pakistan will not be disrupted irrespective of its perpetrators or their motivations.

On the morning after the terror strike, he deployed two of his senior Cabinet colleagues, P Chidambaram and SM Krishna, to reassure an international audience, worried about the consequences of a downturn in India-Pakistan bilateral ties in the wake of another terrorist attack in Mumbai after 26/11, that he will stay the course on Pakistan.

Mr Krishna said that the blasts will have no impact on the talks with his Pakistan counterpart this month. Mr Chidambaram, in turn, said in Mumbai that while all hostile groups are suspects, he would not want to point a finger at any particular group just yet.

Their statements would have calmed fears somewhat, given the sentiment in a section of the international community that peace between Pakistan and India was a global imperative.

The degree of anxiety generated by the attacks could be gauged from a flurry of condolences from world leaders such as Asif Ali Zardari and Yousaf Raza Gilani of Pakistan, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton of the US, Dmitry Medvedev of Russia, Nicolas Sarkozy of France, Stephen Harper of Canada, William Hague of Britain, Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd of Australia, the foreign ministries of Israel and Japan, and organisations such as the United Nations and the European Union.

However, domestic opinion was divided, with some Indians wondering whether relations with Pakistan had matured to the extent that one could begin to think in terms of moving away from presumption of guilt of elements hostile to the peace process. Also, some attempts to blame the Indian Mujahideen for the attacks were seen as a ruse to insulate New Delhi from criticism of its Pakistan policy.

At the same time, the government sought to defend itself by maintaining that there was nothing to be gained from fingerpointing, and, that its stand was in keeping with the spirit of Thimphu and Sharm-el-Sheikh.

Prime Minister Singh and his Pakistan counterpart, Yousaf Raza Gilani, had agreed in Thimphu in April 2010 that dialogue was the way forward. Since then, the foreign ministers and foreign secretaries of the two countries have met on several occasions.

At Sharm-el-Sheikh in July 2009, Singh and Gilani had agreed that action on terrorism should not be linked to the dialogue and the two should not be bracketed.

Further, it was pointed out that foreign secretary Nirupama Rao had recently said in an interview to an Indian television channel that Pakistan's attitude towards tackling terrorism had "altered", and that its talk of tackling non-state elements was a "concrete development."

B Raman, a former official with the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India's external intelligence agency, noted that Pakistan "post-Abbottabad" was not the same as Pakistan pre-Abbottabad. There was an intense introspection regarding Pakistan's relations with the US, and, according to him, India has been a conceptual beneficiary of this introspection.

In an article he wrote before the latest Mumbai attacks, Mr Raman said: "The [language] is changing for the better, though one is not certain how long this would last. One could now sense a feeling of confidence in the Pakistani political leadership that less negative statements about India might have greater public support than in the past."

New Delhi's assertion, that talks with Pakistan will continue, could not have come a moment too soon for Mani Shankar Aiyar of the Congress party. Aiyar, a former diplomat and a former Union minister, may still not find a place in Prime Minister Singh's council of ministers but he has never tired of endorsing Mr Singh's hopes of ensuring that the peace talks with Pakistan become "uninterrupted and uninterruptible."

India backs Rabbani on Taliban talks; will discuss issue with Clinton next week

External affairs minister SM Krishna of India shaking hands with Prof Burhanuddin Rabbani, chairman of the Afghanistan high peace council, in New Delhi on Thursday

New Delhi

14 July 2011

Burhanuddin Rabbani, who heads a panel which has the Afghanistan government's mandate to negotiate peace with the Taliban, would not mind using the good offices of India for finding a political solution to the strife in his country.

India is an important country in the region and we want its cooperation in peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan, Mr Rabbani said on the occasion of his talks with external affairs minister SM Krishna in New Delhi on Thursday.

Mr Rabbani is on a four-day visit to India.

Afghans should not be victims in the hands of others to be used against the Afghan people themselves, Mr Rabbani said without elaborating. He noted that regional countries had a role in promoting peace in Afghanistan.

India was expected to discuss the situation in Afghanistan with US secretary of state Hillary Clinton when she visits New Delhi next week.

Talking to journalists, US charge d'affaires Peter Burleigh said Afghanistan could figure "prominently" in the Clinton-Krishna talks, in which the relations between and among the US, India and Pakistan would be "thoroughly covered".

Burleigh described the Taliban reconciliation talks as a "very important issue" for the US and India alike.

The US was keeping India informed of the substance of the "very preliminary discussions" that have taken place with the Taliban interlocutors.

The diplomat went on to note that the negotiations for "reaching an understanding" with "some Taliban elements" were making "slow process", and the talks could be expected to "continue for months".

"[The US is] continuing to explore [and it] will keep India directly informed and also seek advice," Mr Burleigh said.

The situation in west Asia, north Africa, and east- and south-east Asia, was also likely to be discussed in the second strategic dialogue between Clinton and Krishna on July 19.

Replying to a question about the possible implications of the US losing out on a multi-billion tender for fighter jets for the Indian Air Force, on the defence cooperation with India, Mr Burleigh said "one contract here and there [does not] make or break [the] relationship" and that the US was in it for the long-term.

India to host Prof Burhanuddin Rabbani, head of Afghanistan 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.

'India has tried to deal with the BNP and Begum Khaleda Zia of Bangladesh in the past but it takes two to tango'

India’s obsession with Pakistan is hurting its ties with Bangladesh and other neighbours, says Deb Mukharji, a former Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh, in an interview to Ramesh Ramachandran.

Click on the following ink for reading the full text of the interview: http://interviews-by-ramesh-ramachandran.blogspot.com .

India, Iran discuss trilateral cooperation with Afghanistan; issue of oil payments nowhere near resolution

From left: Nirupama Rao, foreign secretary of India; Mohd Ali Fathollahi, Iran's deputy foreign
minister for Asian and Asia-Pacific affairs; and Ali Akbar Salehi, foreign minister of Iran

New Delhi

6 July 2011

Foreign secretary Nirupama Rao discussed trilateral cooperation among India, Iran and Afghanistan in her talks in Tehran, signalling a movement beyond mere articulation of positions to possibly a structured consultation on the situation in Afghanistan.

Ms Rao called on foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi on Tuesday and held talks with deputy foreign minister for Asian and Asia-Pacific affairs Mohd Ali Fathollahi. She met with Saeed Jalili, secretary of Iran's supreme

national security council, on Wednesday.

The situation in the Arab world, anti-piracy cooperation and consular issues were among other issues that Ms Rao discussed in her talks with Mr Fathollahi, who first mooted the trilateral cooperation during his visit to India in August 2010.

Ms Rao's visit to Iran followed that of national security adviser Shivshankar Menon in March, on the eve of the Persian New Year.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has shied away from visiting Iran but an opportunity could present itself in 2012 when Iran hosts the NAM Summit.

Foreign secretary Nirupama Rao with Saeed Jalili, secretary of Iran's supreme

national security council

Ms Rao's visit comes amid India's continuing search for an amicable solution for crude-oil payments to Iran. Iran has been selling crude to India on credit (the outstandings are over Rs 4,400 crore) since December 2010, when the Reserve Bank of India discontinued the practice of routing payments through a regional clearinghouse called the Asian Clearing Union in view of the US sanctions on Iran.

India switched to the services of the German-Iranian Europaish-Iranische Handelk AG (EIH) bank based in Hamburg but the European Union's sanctions against the bank in May forced Germany to terminate the facility. Petroleum and natural gas minister Jaipal Reddy has said that efforts were being made to ensure uninterrupted oil supplies from Iran. Iran is India's second largest source of imports after Saudi Arabia.

Ms Rao's visit came a year to the day since her July 5, 2010 speech in New Delhi in which she spoke about India pursuing its ties with Iran independent of the US, making accelerated efforts" to complete infrastructure projects, and how India was "justifiably concerned that the extra-territorial nature of certain unilateral sanctions recently imposed by individual countries" could adversely affect India's energy security.

The bilateral ties have remained in disrepair since 2005 when India voted against Iran in the IAEA.

Krishna holds talks with Netherlands FM, statement silent on new NSG guidelines

New Delhi

5 July 2011

A statement issued after external affairs minister SM Krishna's talks with his Dutch counterpart Uri Rosenthal in New Delhi on Tuesday was silent on the new Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) guidelines limiting the sale of sensitive enrichment and reprocessing (ENR) technologies to NPT signatories only. However, the issue was understood to have been discussed in the meeting, coming as it did less than a fortnight after the NSG plenary at Noordwijk in the Netherlands, which concluded on June 24.

The Netherlands is currently the chair of the 46-member NSG.

India has not signed the NPT, and, therefore, it views the revised guidelines as impinging on the clean waiver it got from the NSG in September 2008. The guidelines have not been published in open text as yet, but the Dutch minister's visit here would have served India to fully discuss them and draw appropriate conclusions from it. The sentiment in the NSG on India's quest for the membership of the group, and the sale of two new reactors by China to Pakistan, were understood to have been discussed, too. In May, foreign secretary Nirupama Rao had met with the NSG Troika, comprising the Netherlands, New Zealand and Hungary, in The Hague.

The situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, West Asia, North Africa, and UN reforms figured in their discussions, too. The Dutch minister had visited Afghanistan before arriving in New Delhi. The Netherlands was the first NATO ally to withdraw its combat troops from Afghanistan in August 2010, but it was helping in training the Afghan security forces, which India was doing, too.

Meanwhile, France reiterated its commitment to full civil nuclear cooperation with India in all aspects, including, but not limited to, nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear fuel. In his second statement in five days, France's ambassador to India Jerome Bonnafont said, " ... nothing in the existing and future guidelines shall be interpreted as detracting from that exemption or reducing the ambition of our bilateral cooperation."

He qualified it by saying that the scope of bilateral civil nuclear cooperation would be consistent with France's national policies and international obligations, including the NPT. The reiteration by France follows foreign secretary Nirupama Rao's interview to an Indian television channel in which she hinted that India could choose not to buy nuclear reactors from countries that would not sell ENR technologies to it.