Taking forward the understanding on nuclear issues reached during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Washington visit in July, India and the US have finalised details of a working group that will, in a ‘‘phased manner’’, undertake steps to fulfill commitments in the joint statement.While Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran will head India in the group — setting up of which was agreed by Singh and US President George W Bush — the US team will be headed by Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns.Sources said the first meeting between the two officials was expected after the UN General Assembly session. External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh and Saran will stay back while the Prime Minister will leave New York on September 16.The July 18 joint statement states that the working group will undertake ‘‘necessary actions’’. These include the all-important nuclear understanding, which requires the countries to take reciprocal steps that will open the doors of nuclear business for India.On its part, Bush committed to ‘‘seek agreement’’ from the Congress to adjust US laws and policies and to work with friends and allies to adjust international regimes to enable full civil nuclear energy cooperation and trade with India, including expeditious consideration of fuel supplies for safeguarded nuclear reactors at Tarapur. The US will also consult with its partners India’s request for joining the ITER (International Thermonuclear Energy Reactor) project.The US has already ensured an invite for India to the ongoing meeting of the preparatory committee of the ITER project. With the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) slated to meet sometime in October, sources said the effort would be to muster support to amend NSG guidelines with US help.India has committed to identify and separate civilian and military nuclear facilities. It will follow it up by filing a declaration on its civilians facilities with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). India will also voluntarily place its civilian nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards and negotiate an additional protocol with the IAEA on its civilian nuclear facilitiesBesides this, India has agreed to continue its unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing and to work with the US on concluding a multilateral Fissile Material Cut Off Treaty (FMCT).Meanwhile, Bush and Singh will be co-hosts of the launch of the UN Democracy Fund on Wednesday. The two sides plan a website dedicated for this. The web portals are likely to be launched on Tuesday.
