India to approach IAEA on Indo-US nuke deal very soon: PM

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has said that India would approach the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the Indo-US civil nuclear deal very soon.

Onboard Air India One, July 7 : Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has said that India would approach the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the Indo-US civil nuclear deal very soon.

Dr. Singh said this to the media on his way to Japan. PM is on a visit to Japan to participate in the G-8 summit.

PM's statement has come barely hours after the Left parties' announcement that they would submit the letter of withdrawal of support to President Pratibha Patil on July 10.

Dr Singh also said India had been assured that once it decided to go ahead the nuclear deal, things would move swiftly. But he also hoped that the IAEA board of governors would not take too long to approve nuclear safe guards for India.

Indo-US nuclear deal will figure in all the discussions with world leaders, the Prime Minister said.

The PM said he is confident of getting China's support for the nuke deal and said that it will not be a problem. India already had the support of Russia, France and the UK.

India has been assured that once it took the decision to go to IAEA the process to go ahead with the deal will move pretty fast, said Dr. Singh.

There are reports that the IAEA board will hold a meeting on the July 28 to approve the India-specific nuclear rules.

Earlier today, Defence Minister A. K. Antony said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was "moving ahead" with Indo-US nuclear deal and Left parties should wait till the next UPA meeting for a response.

The deal is essential for the country to obtain nuclear energy from other countries and the UPA government has decided to go ahead with the same considering national interest, Antony said adding there was no question of Congress compromising on national interest.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to meet US President George Bush and discuss the progress of the Indo-US nuclear deal with him during the two-day Summit beginning Tuesday.During his visit, Dr. Singh will discuss various topics, including climate change, energy and food security with G-8 leaders and those from the outreach countries like China, Brazil and South Africa.

Prior to the meeting with the G-8 leaders, the Prime Minister will attend a meeting of the G-5 group of outreach countries being hosted by the President of Mexico on Tuesday.

India has been attending G-8 outreach meetings since 2003. An important outcome of the last year's G-8 summit in Heiligendamm in Germany was the initiative to launch a high-level dialogue between the G-8 and the five-outreach countries to be completed at next year's Summit in Italy.

ANI