New Talks on an Old Nuclear Deal

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and U.S. President George Bush met on the sidelines of the G8 Summit in Japan to discuss the possible nuclear deal between the two nations. If the deal is finalized, India will get access to U.S. civilian nuclear technology and fuel.

Talks of an India-U.S. nuclear deal began 2006, but progression has been delayed because of opposition in both the U.S. and India. Congress was wary of the deal early on, concerned that it would harm the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which India had not signed. More recently, communist parties in India warned the government that such a deal would allow the U.S. to become too involved in Indian nuclear and foreign policy. Now, after these most recent meetings between Prime Minister Singh and President Bush, the communist parties have withdrawn from the coalition fronted by Prime Minister Singh’s Congress Party.

In spite of such opposition, both leaders were quite positive about current and future relations between the two countries. Given the magnitude of the projections of India’s growth, it is wise for the U.S. to be thinking critically about its relationship with India; the question, however, is whether nuclear power should be the focal point of that relationship.