THE TIMES OF INDIA
July 24, 2008
SINGAPORE: The US has congratulated the UPA government, which won the trust vote in the Lok Sabha, for its "deep resolve" to go ahead with the historic Indo-US civilian nuclear deal. US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice on Wednesday night met Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma on the sidelines of ASEAN ministerial meet here.
The leaders had a "very good" meeting during which Rice appreciated India's "resolve to go ahead with the historic nuclear deal", highly-placed sources said. They discussed the "entire gamut of issues" relating to the deal and the two leaders will again meet later today, the sources said.
Sharma is heading the Indian delegation to the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) of which New Delhi is a dialogue partner. During the ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting attended by Sharma, the regional grouping said they welcomed the Indo-US agreement which would ensure energy security for India and hoped the countries would be able to conclude the pact soon.
After the government won the confidence motion on Tuesday night, the US had said it will work with Indian government to expedite the processes at IAEA and 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) for an exemption for nuclear commerce.
