The government is looking to secure the backing of Japan, a member of the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), during Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe?s visit here beginning Wednesday. This will be part of the government?s key agenda with Abe.
Official sources contend that New Delhi is running out of time to get the much-needed backing of the 45-nation NSG, which is meeting in the third week of September, for its path-breaking nuclear deal with the US.
Abe will be the first head of government of an NSG country to come to India after the latter finalised a civil nuclear cooperation pact with the US. Japan, with a domestic constituency that baulks at the mention of the very word nuclear, till now has remained non-commital on the nuclear issue vis-a-vis India.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in his meeting with his Japanese counterpart on Wednesday, will seek Tokyo?s support in the NSG that will re-open doors of global nuclear commerce for New Delhi.
Abe is expected to informally offer Tokyo?s assurance for support to the Indian Prime Minister for the nuclear deal in the NSG. Also, in a special gesture that will underline the new warmth in Indo-Japan ties, Abe will address the joint session of Parliament on Wednesday.
Abe, whose week-long tour that will also take him to Malaysia and Indonesia, is accompanied by 243 executives from companies such as Toyota Motors Corp, Mitsui, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Honda and Orix and Canon.
