Indo-U.S. talks on n-safety soon: PM

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, NOV. 20. India and the United States are set to begin a dialogue to make nuclear power reactors safer and streamline procedures for the transfer of sophisticated technology which can be used for military and civilian purposes.

Making a suo motu statement in both Houses of Parliament today on his recent visit to Russia, the U.S., the United Nations and the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, said the reactivated India-U.S. Defence Policy Group would meet next month.

India and the U.S. have agreed to discuss ways to stimulate bilateral high technology commerce and to streamline procedures for transfer of dual use technology and military items. ``The lifting of economic and technology restrictions should help this process.''

``We agreed to resume and broaden the Bilateral Economic Dialogue and extend our cooperation to energy, environment, health, biotechnology and information technology. We will soon initiate discussions on cooperation in space programmes and civilian nuclear safety projects.''

He said the meetings with the U.S. President, Mr. George Bush, the Russian President, Mr. Vladimir Putin, and the British Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, ``focussed on the broader, long-term agenda of our bilateral relationships with these countries. They also provided the opportunity for consultations on important issues, including the campaign against terrorism and post- conflict challenges in Afghanistan.''

Asserting India's desire to remain engaged with other countries on future political and humanitarian arrangements in Afghanistan, Mr. Vajpayee said the Government was ``fully monitoring the situation and is in continuous touch with all the relevant parties and groups.''

Calling upon the international community to summon the necessary political will to ensure that all funding and safe havens were totally denied to terrorists around the globe, he said the campaign against terrorism was not targeted any religion.

``In all my bilateral discussions, I found a broad identity of views on a comprehensive approach to international terrorism and about the situation in and the future of Afghanistan. There can be no political, economic or ideological justification for terrorism,'' Mr. Vajpayee told Parliament.

While there was a convergence of views on the need for a broad- based, representative, independent and neutral government in Kabul, he said India's legitimate interest in the political and economic future of Afghanistan was widely acknowledged.

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