Top-level Indian team to discuss N-deal with US

Seeking to finalise the civilian nuclear accord by the year-end, a high-level Indian delegation led by National Security Adviser M K Narayanan will hold intensive talks with senior Bush Administration officials here from tomorrow on a key agreement to operationalise the deal.

Besides Narayanan, the Indian team for the challenging exercise comprises Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon, chairman of Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Anil Kakodkar, another AEC official R B Grover, Indian Ambassador to the US Ronen Sen, his Deputy Raminder Singh Jassal, India's High Commissioner to Singapore S Jaishankar and Joint Secretary (Americas) Gaitri Kumar.

The Indian delegation will hold talks with the Bush Administration officials here for as many as four days.

The key meeting will be held on July 18 at the White House between Narayanan and his counterpart Stephen Hadley. It is expected to last for several hours and break down into different formats like the one-on-one between Narayanan and Hadley, and the delegation-level talks.

In many different ways, Indian government appears to have conveyed to the Bush Administration that the team headed by Narayanan is the "highest" that can be put together, a reflection that New Delhi is doing its part in trying to seal the 123 Agreement, which will operationalise the nuclear deal.

On the afternoon of July 17, Menon will be having formal talks with Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns and this will be preceded in the morning by talks between Jaishankar and a senior State Department official. Tomorrow, the Indian negotiating team will have its own internal meetings.