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In his farewell remarks on his last day in office
after serving two years here June 30, outgoing
US Ambassador Timothy J. Roemer also expressed
the hope that the 2008 India-US civil nuclear
deal will move forward positively with New Delhi's
commitment to ratify the Convention on Supplementary
Compensation (CSC) for nuclear damage.
Roemer described 'pat downs' at airports and
criminal charges against Indian diplomats in America
as "occasional hiccups" in otherwise
"positive stories" in the bilateral
relationship between the two countries.
The ambassador, who met Indian students for an
interaction on a rain-swept morning on the expansive
lawns of India Gate, one of the capital's most
important landmarks, also said it was a pleasure
for him to stand with the youngsters at the "beautiful
monument to India's history" and to look
forward with them to "a bright future that
awaits the great US-India partnership".
His remarks on the clear waiver of the NSG came
ahead of his meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh to say goodbye.
It may be noted that only a week ago, the 46-nation
nuclear trade cartel at its meeting in the Netherlands,
decided to tighten regulations for the export
of sensitive enrichment and reprocessing technologies
that was seen by some in India as questioning
the 2008 clean waiver given by the NSG to facilitate
full civilian nuclear cooperation with New Delhi.
"Having come from the White House and Washington
DC recently, I would like to say the White House
and Obama administration strongly and vehemently
support the clean waiver for India," Roemer,
who had resigned from his diplomatic responsibilities
in April, told reporters here.
"Secondly, the 123 civil nuclear legislation
also underscores our support for India in this
debate that is going on. Thirdly, our law clearly
points to the clean waiver for India. So the President
firmly supports it, the 123 agreement firmly supports
it and our law firmly commits us to it,"
Roemer said.
"So with India's commitment as they move
forward to ratify the CSC and they work more closely
with the US companies, I think you will see this
civil nuclear agreement hopefully continue to
move in a very positive direction in the future,"
he added.
On the row over 'pat down' security checks and
criminal cases against Indian diplomats in US,
Roemer said the two countries were working out
ways for smooth visits by important people to
both countries that go on without incidents.
The bilateral ties witnessed some bitter moments
this month when India's Consul General in New
York Prabhu Dayal was accused of "slavery"
by his Indian domestic help, and the daughter
of another diplomat, Krittika Biswas, sued the
New York city for her wrongful arrest.
In two other incidents, India's Ambassador to
US Meera Shankar and Permanent Representative
to the United Nations Hardeep Puri were subjected
to 'pat down' security checks at American airports
in December last year. New Delhi took up these
issues at the highest level in the US.
Noting that "every now and then" such
incidents did take place in both India and the
US, Roemer said the big picture was that the two
countries' relations have taken strides in the
last decade and that there were "positives
that transpired" during that period.
"I really hope the media will concentrate
on those good news stories as well as the occasional
hiccups or the challenge that takes place in the
relationship," he said.
(IANS)
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