With negotiations on the bilateral agreement to operationalise the Indo-US civil nuclear deal gaining momentum, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that “one or two issues” needed to be resolved and hoped that it would be done soon. “There are one or two issues to be resolved,” he said referring to the proposed 123 agreement.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a book release function, he expressed confidence that the agreement will be finalised soon. He said that he would take the Parliament into confidence when the deal is finalised.
“I have been apprising the Parliament at every step on the deal. It has never happened earlier,” the Prime Minister said while pointing out that he had made statements in the House after July 18, 2005 understanding on the deal.

Singh’s comments came amidst optimism expressed by the US on finalisation of the deal this year.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday said with will and determination, the two countries will be able to finalise it by the end of the year. She told the the annual meeting of the United States- India Business Council in Washington that the deal has good bipartisan support and “I do not believe this initiative is Republican or Democratic.”

Win-win deal: US
Meanwhile, projecting the civil nuclear deal as “the first fundamental pillar” of Indo-US relations, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has expressed confidence that the “win-win” agreement will be finalised by the year-end.

She pointed out that negotiations on the deal were difficult but hoped the bipartisan support for it will help the 123 agreement, operational pact of the deal, go through the Congress.
“This is a huge step forward. We’re not quite there yet. But with will and determination and more hard work to do, I am certain that we will reach final agreement and be in a position to complete this deal by the end of the year,” said Rice.

“I think that this is a win-win (situation) if ever there were one,” she said addressing the 32nd anniversary celebrations of the United States India Business Council (USIBC) on Wednesday.
Terming the civilian nuclear deal as one of the “keys to the partnership”, she said “the historic agreement” would lay “really, the first fundamental pillar for a US-India relationship that no one could have imagined many years ago.”

Rice said the agreement will open new doors of cooperation in the nuclear field.

“It was only a matter of time before two leaders who were visionary enough realised that they had to break this particular logjam so that the US-India relationship can flourish,” Rice said, adding “and I myself am dedicated to getting it done and we need to get it done by the end of the year.”