New Delhi, April 10: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday left for a week-long visit to the US and Brazil, during which he will meet President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao and attend a summit on nuclear security.
The special aircraft carrying the prime minister and his delegation took off from the Palam air force station at 9.40 am.
In his departure statement released Friday evening, Singh said India was a “major stakeholder” in addressing issues related to nuclear security. He hoped that the summit will discuss issues related to nuclear terrorism and proliferation, which should be dealt with “firmly”.
Singh will meet Obama tomorrow ahead of the Nuclear Security Summit to discuss the path forward on their landmark civil nuclear deal and other bilateral and regional issues.
The Sunday afternoon meeting with the Indian PM, who has advanced his trip by a day for the important “bilateral engagement”, at the Blair House, the presidential guest house across the street from White House, will be first of a series of meetings that Obama will have with world leaders from 47 nations.
“Obviously the President developed a close working relationship with Prime Minister Singh, who visited the United States for a State Dinner and working visit last year,” Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications, told reporters Friday.
“And we expect, again, to have a dialogue with the Indians, a continuing dialogue on a range of issues that we’re working with them together on.”
An announcement on the next steps for implementing the nuclear deal may be expected with a major hurdle cleared with India and US reaching agreement on reprocessing of spent US nuclear fuel. The two sides had failed to make such an announcement during Manmohan Singh’s November state visit.
India’s relationship with Pakistan, cross border terrorism and India’s role in Afghanistan would inevitably figure in his talks with Obama, who later in the day is set to have a separate bilateral meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.
“The United States and Pakistan have a deepening partnership on a range of issues, and the President looks forward to this opportunity to continue strengthening that partnership during discussions with Prime Minister Gilani,” Rhodes said.
However, a bilateral meeting between Manmohan Singh and Gilani appears highly unlikely.
At the summit, Manmohan Singh and Chinese President Hu Jintao will be among a few leaders who would outline their respective national plans to ensure safety of nuclear materials to set the ball rolling in the first plenary.
As Deputy US National Security Adviser Michael Froman, said during a recent US-India Business Council meeting: “Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s attendance will be key to the success of the summit.”
In the next leg in Brasilia, Singh will participate in the Brazil-Russia-India-China (BRIC) summit and the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) summit.
At both places, he will also hold bilateral meetings with Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Brazilian President Lula da Silva, President Hu and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
IANS
New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday left for a week-long visit to the US and Brazil, during which he will meet President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao and attend a summit on nuclear security.
The special aircraft carrying the prime minister and his delegation took off from the Palam air force station at 9.40 am.
In his departure statement released Friday evening, Singh said India was a “major stakeholder” in addressing issues related to nuclear security. He hoped that the summit will discuss issues related to nuclear terrorism and proliferation, which should be dealt with “firmly”.
Singh will meet Obama tomorrow ahead of the Nuclear Security Summit to discuss the path forward on their landmark civil nuclear deal and other bilateral and regional issues.
The Sunday afternoon meeting with the Indian PM, who has advanced his trip by a day for the important “bilateral engagement”, at the Blair House, the presidential guest house across the street from White House, will be first of a series of meetings that Obama will have with world leaders from 47 nations.
“Obviously the President developed a close working relationship with Prime Minister Singh, who visited the United States for a State Dinner and working visit last year,” Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications, told reporters Friday.
“And we expect, again, to have a dialogue with the Indians, a continuing dialogue on a range of issues that we’re working with them together on.”
An announcement on the next steps for implementing the nuclear deal may be expected with a major hurdle cleared with India and US reaching agreement on reprocessing of spent US nuclear fuel. The two sides had failed to make such an announcement during Manmohan Singh’s November state visit.
India’s relationship with Pakistan, cross border terrorism and India’s role in Afghanistan would inevitably figure in his talks with Obama, who later in the day is set to have a separate bilateral meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.
“The United States and Pakistan have a deepening partnership on a range of issues, and the President looks forward to this opportunity to continue strengthening that partnership during discussions with Prime Minister Gilani,” Rhodes said.
However, a bilateral meeting between Manmohan Singh and Gilani appears highly unlikely.
At the summit, Manmohan Singh and Chinese President Hu Jintao will be among a few leaders who would outline their respective national plans to ensure safety of nuclear materials to set the ball rolling in the first plenary.
As Deputy US National Security Adviser Michael Froman, said during a recent US-India Business Council meeting: “Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s attendance will be key to the success of the summit.”
In the next leg in Brasilia, Singh will participate in the Brazil-Russia-India-China (BRIC) summit and the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) summit.
At both places, he will also hold bilateral meetings with Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Brazilian President Lula da Silva, President Hu and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
–IANS