New Delhi: Even as the UPA and the Left battle it out over the Indo-US nuclear deal, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief, Mohammed El-Baradei is in the country on a three-day visit.
However, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) sources have said that there will be no formal or informal talks with El-Baradei over the nuclear deal. He is visiting the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre on an invitation by AEC Chairman, Anil Kakodkar.
El-Baradei arrived in Mumbai on Monday night. He is here for the Hindustan Times media summit for which CNN-IBN is the media partner. However, the timing makes sure, it will be watched closely for many other reasons.
On being asked about the ongoing nuke debate in India, El-Baradei said, "All talks with the Indian Government have always been fruitful."
"India is a very important partner for us in development mandate of nuclear energy as well as disarmament of nuclear weapons. It's very important to invest in science and technology. Some of the benefits of investing in science and technology have been seen in India only in the last 10 years," he added.
"Countries like India cannot depend on imported technology all the time. Some of the benefits of nuclear energy are only seen after continous investment and dedication," he further stated
El-Baradei also spoke of Chinese intrusions in Bhutan. He said that India's energy interests remain in Myanmar.
El-Baradei's visit is just a goodwill visit and he will be meeting the foreign minister on Wednesday and the Prime Minister on Thursday informally, say sources at the Ministry of External Affairs.
UPA Smelling An Opportunity?
However, there is certainly a small window of opportunity for the Government to get the nuclear deal through, in respect of El-Baradei's visit.
Indian nuclear scientists say the negotiations are not complicated and that there is a prescribed format, which can be dealt with fairly quickly ..
For that they say that the negotiations on the draft text of the Safeguards Agreement must get underway by the middle of October.
The time frame is urgent as the US needs to know soonest when to call an emergency meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) — which they would prefer to hold sometime in November.
The NSG will in turn take a few days to review the Safeguards Agreement.
If all goes well, the complete nuclear package should reach the US Congress by the middle of December so a vote can be scheduled at the earliest before it goes into election mode.
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