India Deserves To Be In NSG, The U.S. Will Work For It: Envoy


NEW DELHI: The U.S. is "disappointed" that India was not admitted to NSG during its recent plenary in Seoul, U.S. Ambassador to India Richard Verma said today but asserted that it will continue to work with all the members of 48-nation grouping on India's accession in the months ahead. 

Referring to Indo-U.S. civil nuclear cooperation, he said the two sides have moved forward on a 15-year project to build six Westinghouse reactors producing power for some 60 million people. "This is a deal that had been pending for 10 years, and we were pleased to see it move even closer to fruition." 

Addressing the Atlantic Council US-India Trade Initiative workshop, Verma talked about the US' strong support for India's role in global institutions, like having a seat on a reformed UN security council. "We continued to welcome India's interest in APEC, and we strongly affirmed our support for India's accession into the multi-lateral export control regimes," he added. 

"With regard to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), six years ago, President (Barack) Obama first expressed his support for India's membership in the NSG. Since that time, we have worked closely with our Indian counterparts and NSG members to help advance India's case for membership. India has a strong record, and deserves to be included in the NSG.

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Source: PTI