Rattled by the growing support for India’s bid for Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) membership, Pakistan reached out to the international community. However, as a setback for Pakistan, Mexico backed India’s entry into the 48-member block whose members are allowed to trade in and export nuclear technology. While few countries have extended support to Pakistan, its ally China toughened stand on Thursday on allowing India to join the elite group even.
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto announced his country’s support to India’s bid for membership of the elite NSG after holding wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on a range of bilateral and global issues.
“Mexico supports positively and constructively India’s membership of the NSG,” the Mexican President said at a joint media interaction with Modi. On his part, the Prime Minister thanked Mexico for its support and called the country an important partner for India’s energy security.
“We are looking to move beyond buyer-seller relationship and into a long-term partnership... We have agreed to develop a roadmap of concrete outcomes to upgrade our ties to a Strategic Partnership,” said the Prime Minister who arrived here earlier in the day from Washington on the last leg of his five-nation tour.
In their talks, Modi and Nieto explored ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in a number of key areas, including in trade and investment, information technology, climate change and energy. Mexico is a key member of the NSG and its support to India’s bid for entry into NSG is seen as important. Modi had visited Switzerland, another key member of the NSG, before travelling to the US, and the European country — known to have strong proliferation concerns — had announced its support to India’s candidature for the atomic trading club.
Support of Mexico and Switzerland is seen as important in the wake of China opposing India”s NSG membership arguing that it was not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The issue had figured prominently during talks between Modi and US President Barack Obama in Washington on Tuesday.
The US and many other NSG member countries have supported India”s inclusion based on its non-proliferation track record. The NSG works under the principle of unanimity and even one country”s vote against India will scuttle its bid.
India has been pushing for membership of the bloc for last few years and had formally moved its application on May 12.
The NSG looks after critical issues relating to the nuclear sector
and its members are allowed to trade in and export nuclear technology. Its membership will help India significantly expand its atomic energy sector. The NSG had granted an exclusive waiver for India in 2008 to access civil nuclear technology after China reluctantly backed India”s case based on the Indo-US nuclear deal.
Meanwhile, Pakistan on Thursday expressed concern over the growing strategic ties between India and the US and accused that Washington approaches Islamabad whenever it needs it and abandons it when it does not.”Pakistan will convey its concerns to the US over the latest issues in the bilateral ties,” Pakistan Prime Minister”s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said, adding a high-level meeting is planned here between the two nations on Friday.
“The US approaches Pakistan whenever it needs it, and abandons it when it doesn”t need Pakistan,” Dawn newspaper quoted Aziz as saying.
Pakistan is upset that President Barack Obama has backed India”s bid for membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group.”We firmly conveyed it to the US that maintaining effective nuclear deterrence is critical for Pakistan”s security and only Pakistan itself can determine how it should respond to growing strategic imbalance in South Asia,” Aziz said.
Meanwhile, a report from Vinenna said China was leading opposition to a push by the United States and other major powers for India to join the NSG.
Other countries opposing Indian membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) include New Zealand, Ireland, Turkey, South Africa and Austria, diplomats said.
Opponents argue that granting it membership would further undermine efforts to prevent proliferation. It would also infuriate Pakistan, which responded to India”s membership bid with one of its own and has the backing of its close ally China.
A decision on Indian membership is not expected before an NSG plenary meeting in Seoul on June 20, but diplomats said Washington had been pressuring hold-outs, and Thursday”s closed-door meeting was a chance to see how strong opposition is.
US secretary of state John Kerry wrote to members asking them “not to block consensus on Indian admission to the NSG” in a letter seen by Reuters and dated Friday.