Nicholas Burns to visit India in second week of Nov

New Delhi, Oct 19: US Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Nicolas Burns will arrive here next month to carry forward the dialogue with Indian officials on the Civilian Nuclear Agreement.

Another US official, Under-Secretary of State for International Trade in the Department of Commerce, will also arrive here shortly for discussions with Indian officials.

Mr Burns, who will be here in the second week of November, will have meeting with Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon and India's pointsman on the Civilian Nuclear Deal, Shyam Saran.

Sources said Mr Burns, who will be leading a delegation, will also visit Islamabad for discussions with Pakistan Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammed Khan for the second round of Pakistan-US strategic dialogue on November 6-7.

Despite hiccups, the two countries have expressed commitment to the agreement signed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President George Bush on July 18, 2005.

Even as the US has expressed commitment, the 45-nation powerful nuclear lobby--the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)-- is non-committal about its support which is crucial for the agreement.

UNI

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