Threats posed by terrorism and cooperation in civilian nuclear energy are expected to be high on the agenda of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's meeting with United States President George W Bush in Washington on Monday. The meet may see several initiatives for bolstering bilateral ties.
During his discussions with President Bush in the White House, Dr Singh is likely to highlight the importance of comprehensive cooperation in civilian nuclear energy, while emphasising that India has been and will remain a responsible nuclear state.
Official sources in New Delhi said that there will be a major economic thrust in Dr Singh's deliberations with the Bush administration. There will also be a lot of interaction with American business leaders projecting India as a land of opportunity for investment and doing business.
Coinciding with the visit, a delegation of 10 top Indian Chief Executive Officers led by industrialist Ratan Tata will be in Washington for the launching of the Indo-US business forum aimed at bolstering Foreign Direct Investment flows and trade and economic cooperation.
The visit takes place close on the heels of the terror attacks in Ayodhya and London at the time of the G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland.
New Delhi will strongly convey to Washington that there can be no segmentation in the fight against terrorism and this menace must be unitedly dealt with.
Dr Singh, who heads for Washington on Saturday, will have a stopover in Frankfurt. He will be accompanied by Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office Prithviraj Chavan, National Security Adviser M K Narayanan, Principal Secretary T K A Nair and senior officials.
