Hoping that the Indo-US nuclear deal will get through the US Congress next week, the White House has said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit here on September 25 will help push the landmark accord "over the line".
"And one of the reasons Prime Minister Singh will come to the White House is to help push that over the line, so that we can get it done," White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said.
Her remarks assume significance as they come ahead of the Prime Minister's meeting with US President George W Bush at the White House.
Singh travels to Washington from New York on September 25 on a working visit for parleys with Bush, with whom he had conceived the landmark nuclear deal in July 2005. He will be in the US capital just a day ahead of the Congress winding up its session.
As the Bush administration pushed for a fast track ratification of the 123 agreement to operationalise the nuclear deal, Perino said it has "significant support in Congress that would allow us to get this through".
"We do believe that there's significant support in Congress that would allow us to get this through. I hope that they would be able to get it done next week," she said yesterday when asked if the pact will go through the Congress.
The US official stressed on the importance of the nuclear agreement to energy security and environment. "The 123 agreement that we have been working with India and then with our Congress is critically important to energy security and also for the environment," Perino said.