New Delhi: US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have made significant progress on the nuclear deal, according to TV reports.
The two leaders are set to discuss the deal at Delhi’s Hyderabad House, in a ‘one-on-one’ interaction on Sunday.
According to TV sources, the two leaders are optimistic about the possibility of an agreement and an official announcement today.
U.S and Indian officials will discuss ways to unblock billions of dollars of potential trade in nuclear energy.
India and the United States signed a landmark civilian nuclear deal in 2008. Holding up the trade is India’s reluctance to pass legislation shielding suppliers from liability in the event of a nuclear accident, a deviation from international norms.
During Modi’s visit to US in September, the two leaders had decided to set-up a high level Contact Group on civil nuclear cooperation.
The group has held important discussions on a range of issues, including administrative, liability and technical.
The two leaders are also expected to sign their new 10-year defence framework agreement.
The new framework is likely to enhance the bilateral defence partnership by stepping up joint military exercises and through more in-depth intelligence-sharing, maritime security, etc. It will also include a drive against terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Defence minister Manohar Parrikar had recently pointed out that the focus would not be on procurement but on joint development of technology and technology transfer.
The US is also focusing on the India-US Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI), which promotes collaboration in defence technology and enables co-production and co-development of critical defence systems.
