India’s Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar left for Seoul today ahead of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) Plenary tomorrow to shore up India’s efforts for membership. Sources in the External Affairs Ministry said India’s membership is likely to be discussed in the meeting of the 48-nation atomic trading bloc. Sources said, membership in NSG is a delicate and complex process and it would not be wise to speculate at this point.
Mr Jaishankar had earlier made a visit to Beijing on the 16th of this month to enlist support for India’s bid for NSG membership. India has been reaching out to NSG member countries seeking their support for its membership of NSG whose members are allowed to trade in and export nuclear technology.
Meanwhile, China has said, it will play a constructive role in the discussions on India’s NSG membership. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a news agency that NSG members had three rounds of unofficial discussions on India and Pakistan’s membership in the grouping.