New Delhi: India has reportedly told interlocutors at the G20 summit that it has no problems with Pakistan becoming a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, provided that ‘due process is followed’.
According to a report in Hindustan Times, admitting new members into the NSG has become a political compulsion for China because of Pakistan’s bid. China had opposed India’s bid in May on the grounds that India was not a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and that procedural issues were not addressed.
Read: Modi meets Xi on sidelines of G20 summit, discusses bilateral ties
The report says that consultations for Indian membership are now taking place on two tracks - discussions undertaken by NSG chair’s envoy Rafael Grossi with members of the group, and India’s bilateral efforts to increase support for its entry into the club by the year-end.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who met Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit on Sunday, was expected to address the issue with the Chinese President. It is not clear if this materialised.
But Xi Jinping may in turn raise India’s recent signing of the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) with the US and ask Modi to clarify India’s foreign policy doctrine of non-alignment, the report said.
