Nuclear deal shows India willing to fulfill commitments: US expert

Washington, Feb 10: Beyond the nuclear deal breakthrough, President Barack Obama's trip to India showed that the new Indian government with a strategic global outlook was willing to fulfill its commitments, according to a US think tank. Questions have been raised over whether the workaround for civilian nuclear trade is the breakthrough both sides claim, noted Richard M. Rossow, Wadhwani Chair in US-India Policy Studies Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). "The importance of civilian nuclear trade is not in question," he wrote in a commentary noting "India is energy starved, and a heavier reliance on nuclear power could reduce the nation's trade deficit while reducing emissions." But for the US government it is even more important to know "it is dealing with a government in Delhi that is both strategic in its global outlook and willing to fulfill its commitments," Rossow wrote. "Measured by these two variables, the visit was quite remarkable," he added. "The fact that India made real efforts to find a workaround solution to enable nuclear trade gives fresh confidence that we can make progress on other fronts."