Foreign Correspondence

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India's nuclear deal seen as crucial
By News Desk .. The Statesman
Publication Date: 04-02-2008

India could face international "isolation" if its nuclear deal with
the United States collapses, the Indian government said Sunday.

“If the agreement is not through, we could have to face isolation and possibly isolation
in sanction too,” India's external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee said after inaugurating
the 176th Annual General Meeting of the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce yesterday (Feb 3).

Mukherjee said India and the global atomic watchdog IAEA were yet to find a
common ground on the draft safeguards agreement necessary to operationalise
the civilian nuclear deal with the USA and that discussions were still on.

After finalising the draft pact, the Congress-led government would
place it before the UPA-Left panel to get a political go-ahead for
the deal that aimed to bring India out of nuclear wilderness, Mukherjee said.

He said the agreements on civil nuclear cooperation with various
countries would in particular “help in increasing the share of
civil nuclear power in our energy mix” and ensure energy security.

“My ministry is aware of these challenges and are making all attempts by focusing on
bilateral and multilateral engagements for cooperation with source countries,” he said.

Mukherjee said once the problems on the energy front were resolved, there would
not be any problem achieving a sustainable growth at about 10 per cent in the 11th Plan.

Observing that the country faced unprecedented challenge in the form of
ensuring its energy security, he said: “We have to depend to a large extent
on import of hydro-carbon and other fossil fuel for meeting energy needs."

Describing oil prices averaging at 100 US dollar a barrel as a drag on the country's
resources that could have been expended better on more productive purposes,
Mukherjee said: “Our energy needs will grow in keeping with our
projected economic
growth. The way out is by investing to build future assets in energy.”

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