NSG support: India reaches out to S Africa

MICS - India By Shekhar Kulshreshtha

NEW DELHI, MARCH 27: Rustling up support for the Indo-US nuclear deal in Nuclear Suppliers Group

The issue was taken up by Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma with South African President Thabo Mbeki. Sources said Mbeki took keen interest in the NSG), India reached out to South Africa — a key NSG member that has had reservations on India being given a special status — over the weekend and gave a detailed presentation on the deal.

presentation and was positive in his outlook, but reserved any opinion in the matter. He promised to look into the issue in consultation with his officials. Having renounced its nuclear weapons programme to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear weapon state, South Africa has been uncomfortable for this exception being made to accommodate India. However, it does have an elaborate civilian nuclear programme.

While US, France, Russia and other countries are trying to garner support for India from NSG members in Europe, there is a clear sense that India must take the lead in reaching out to South Africa and Brazil — another country that gave up its nuclear weapons programme and signed the NPT — with which it has a close historical ties.

Sharma, who left for Brazil from South Africa, also expressed India’s willingness to start the first ever India-Africa dialogue on the continental scale. Mbeki supported the idea and felt New Delhi could be a positive force in promoting peace, democracy and development. It may be noted that China has such a dialogue mechanism too and is soon to hold the first China-Africa summit. While the idea is similar, South Block officials pointed out that India’s role could be far more extensive than that of China given the fact that the overall political objective was to promote democracy in the continent.

South African Minister for Public Services and Administration Geraldine Fraser Moleketi and Minister for Public Enterprises Alec Erwin came down to Johannesburg specially to meet Sharma on Saturday. With both countries set to jointly celebrate the launch of the Satyagraha by Mahatma Gandhi, India will hope South Africa reflects the partnership in Vienna.

Sharma will now take up the matter with Brazil, which has been less sceptical on the deal but is still to come to terms with the exception being granted to India by the US. India, South Africa and Brazil have a very close dialogue mechanism through the IBSA forum and for this reason, India is backing its chances to get them aboard.

If support from these two countries is forthcoming in the NSG, officials admit that it will make a tremendous difference as the grouping works on the principle of consensus.