US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice could be the one to sign the Indo-US civil nuclear agreement during her India visit, which may happen either on October 4 or 13.
This if the deal can’t be signed during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s current US tour owing to the exigencies of the US Congress. The tour ends on September 28.
The government, however, is keeping its hopes high that the deal clears the Congressional calendar while Singh is in the US. Singh and President George Bush will refer to the deal in a joint statement if it is not cleared before that, say officials.
Clearing the financial bailout package is heavy on the US Congress’ agenda. And if for that reason the deal cannot go through the House of Representatives committee and later through a yes-or-no vote in Congress, the full and final version will be inked in New Delhi rather than Washington, add officials. Rice will be in India as part of her farewell tour of the sub-continent.
“Everything now depends on when the 123 Agreement gets the nod of the US Congress. If it is cleared in the next two-three days, the two countries might sign the deal during the prime minister’s stay. But this seems unlikely,” a top source in South Block told Business Standard.
