Pranab Mukherjee meets Rice in New York
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee met US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to review bilateral issues.
In the backdrop of the Indo-US nuclear deal facing stiff opposition from Left parties, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee met US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in New York to review bilateral issues.
Meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session, the two discussed "a gamut of items of cooperation" and international issues of concern, a release issued by the Indian Permanent Mission in New York said.
However, the release did not make any mention of the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal coming up for discussion.
The 123 agreement to operationalise the deal must be completed in the life of the present US Congress.
The deal, which aims to give India access to American nuclear fuel and equipment to help meet its soaring energy needs, has to be approved by the US Congress, the IAEA and the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
After the parleys between the two sides which stretched for 45 minutes yesterday, Mukherjee said it was a "good meeting." Rice and Mukherjee expressed satisfaction at the growing bilateral relations and cooperation in various fields between two countries.
"The two leaders reviewed bilateral relations across the gamut of items of cooperation. They also considered the international situation and exchanged view on issues of concern," the release said.
