Feel Of A New Deal

Three sets of documents are to be exchanged between the two sides detailing Indian assurances and US commitment to give access to dual-use technology. The complex agreement is a "set of mutual obligations", say officials. India has wanted greater access to US technology but Washington has been reluctant because of concerns about the technology leaking either to third parties or being used in the weapons programmes. US law requires that sales of licensed high-tech items be occasionally followed by on-site inspections to ensure the technology is being used for the purposes it was sold. The US requirements apply even when India buys US technology from a third country. This was one of the problems during the negotiations because New Delhi saw it as excessively "intrusive".

The moment of success came after many months of anger and despair. Two months ago, the White House and the US Commerce Department had almost given up on the agreement because of delays in New Delhi. But the new government was trying to "come up to speed" on the issues while engaging in some "course correction" vis-a-vis Washington. The non-proliferation hawks in the US bureaucracy insisted on every measure of enforcement with regard to India, even though they were unusually meek when Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan was caught selling nuclear technology. "The non-pro guys had to be boxed in," commented a US analyst familiar with the process.

Many road bumps later, the deal was finally done in time for the Bush-Manmohan meeting scheduled for September 21 in New York. Their joint statement can now have some meat besides the usual celebration of being fellow democracies joined in an eternal quest for freedom.

The agreement marks the end of Phase I of the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP) announced in January this year by Bush and former PM Atal Behari Vajpayee. Under the nssp, Washington has agreed to strengthen cooperation in four areas—civilian nuclear, space, high-tech sales and missile defence. The broad framework was discussed by the Vajpayee team, and now Manmohan’s has taken it forward. This agreement, dubbed a "litmus test" of the relationship by India, helps to resolve long-standing issues of trust and technology, a constant lament in Indo-US ties. "The whole nssp revolves around reciprocity. What the discussions have been trying to do is to clarify the content of the mutual obligations. Both sides have now agreed to set in motion the entire package with its components and sequences. Thus, substantive implementation has begun," said a US source.

In the past, the nssp has been the subject of speculation and ridicule by some analysts who say it has moved at a snail’s pace leaving barely visible marks. There have been few tangible gains for India while US deliveries next door in Pakistan have been substantive and frequent. Hopefully, this means a course correction for Washington.