Nusa Dua, Bali: Declaring that there were "no irritants whatsoever" in their relationship, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met US President Barack Obama here yesterday but clarified that specific grievances on the civil nuclear liability law could only be addressed within "four corners of the law of the land".
"I explained to him that we have a law in place and rules have been formulated... These will lie in parliament for 30 days. Therefore we have gone some way to respond to concerns of American companies and within the four corners of the law of the land, we are willing to address any specific grievances," Singh said after the delegation level talks that lasted for over an hour.
‘Dear friend'
"I also told him [Obama] that we'll ratify the Supplementary Convention [for nuclear damage]... that's where the matter stands," Singh said a day after New Delhi quietly notified the implementation rules for the civil nuclear liability law that has come under fire for alleged dilution in suppliers' liability.
Obama and Singh, who met at Grand Hyatt hotel where the former is staying, made brief opening remarks before a section of the media before starting the delegation level talks. The talks took place on the sidelines of the India-Asean summit and the East Asia Summit.
"Bonds between our countries are not just at the leadership level but also the personal level," Obama, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other senior officials by his side, told Singh.
Obama, who began by remembering his "extraordinary visit" to India "around the same time last year" and referring to Singh as his "dear friend", said there was an "outstanding opportunity" to address a range of issues at the bilateral and multilateral levels.
Enough space
There was enough space for both India and China to flourish, Singh and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said here yesterday in their opening remarks at talks being held in the backdrop of persisting tensions between the two nations.
Stating that they had long agreed to meet again to exchange views on important issues, Wen reminded Singh of his comment that there was enough space for the two countries to grow.
To that he added that there "were enough areas in the world where China and India can enhance cooperation". "It is important for our two countries, the most populous in the world, to achieve modernisation and work hand in hand," the Chinese leader said, adding that he was "fully confident that that kind of world will arrive".
Stating that he was committed to developing "the best of relations with China", Singh also picked up on the same point. "As you have said, there is enough space for India and China to grow and flourish," the prime minister said, describing Wen's visit to India last December as a milestone.
