U.S. may lift sanctions soon

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, FEB. 21. Economic sanctions imposed by the United States on India after its nuclear tests of May 1998 may be lifted soon. This was hinted at by a U.S. Congressional delegation at a meeting organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here today.

The delegation comprised the two co-chairs of the India Caucus, Mr. Edward Royce and Mr. Jim McDermott, and Mr. David Bonior.

According to Mr. McDermott, a number of issues - among them sanctions - were placed on the backburner last year due to the U.S. presidential elections. He expressed optimism that the Bush administration would initiate measures to lift the sanctions soon as they had an adverse impact on both nations.

Mr. McDermott noted that the U.S. placed tremendous importance on its relations with India. The State Department was working hard to maintain the momentum of the relationship, he said and assured the participants that the post of the U.S. Ambassador would not be left vacant.

Mr. Bonior stressed the need to move forward with the peace process in Kashmir, stating that the U.S. was willing to do everything in its power to help.

Mr. Royce highlighted the need to facilitate trade and investment links. The India Caucus was trying to convince American business that investing in India, which followed a democratic system, was more profitable in the long term than investing in a country which did not have such a system.

He pointed out that the India Caucus, with 123 members, was the most populous and second most powerful one in Congress. It was working hard to get American companies to focus on trade and investment opportunities in India.

The delegation and the CII agreed to set up a small group, comprising businessmen and government officials from both nations, to identify the key areas of cooperation.

The Congressmen expressed sympathy on the devastation and loss caused by the earthquake in Gujarat. According to Mr. McDermott, the disaster demonstrated the resilience of Gujarat and India as a whole. He commended the Government on the relief activities, stating that it handled the crisis in the best- possible manner.

PTI reports:

Mr. Royce said the Caucus would push hard to get the sanctions, including the one on dual-use technology, lifted at the earliest. Indicating that the Bush administration was keen on removing the sanctions, he said this had been articulated by the U.S. Secretary of State, Mr. Colin Powell, who favoured ending the restrictions on the ground that they were counter-productive.

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