Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 7

India was today admitted into the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Barack Obama in Washington DC. The meeting lasted about an hour and both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to cooperation in matters such as climate change. The US reiterated its support for India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). There were no big announcements. Both leaders have shared a personal rapport and as Obama demits office in five months from now, the idea behind the Modi visit is to consolidate the gains and to keep working. Modi thanked Obama, whom he referred to as a close friend, for the US support on the Missile Control Group and the NSG. Obama said they had discussed regional security and nuclear cooperation. From the US perspective, getting India to agree on the climate change deal is a priority. That is a part of the legacy Obama wants to leave behind. Indications are that India has agreed to go along with the US on climate change with Modi stating, “Hope we will be able to realise our dream of climate justice.”After the Obama-Modi meeting, the White House said: “Both countries are committed to working together and with others to promote full implementation of the Paris Agreement to address the urgent threats posed by climate change.” Admission into the MTCR brings India closer to membership in the NSG. According to sources familiar with the developments, India is pitching efforts to make sure that when its membership comes up for discussion at the plenary meeting of the NSG in Seoul later this month, it makes through. Sources say to achieve this, India has assigned senior diplomats to countries such as Ireland which are hostile to India’s entry into the NSG. They say the Indian strategy is to isolate China in the process. China has held that since India is a non-signatory to the NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty), it should not be given NSG membership. The MTCR membership would also make it possible for India to buy the state-of-the-art surveillance drones, such as the US predator. Meanwhile, the US Deputy National Security Adviser Benjamin Rhodes, speaking in Washington today, indicated that the US would support India in its bid for NSG inclusion.

The significance of it

• The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) is one of four international non-proliferation regimes
• Membership of the MTCR would require India to comply with rules, such as a maximum missile range of 300 km (186 miles)
• The group was set up in 1987 to limit the spread of unmanned systems capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction
• New Delhi has also applied for membership of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), a 48-nation club that governs trade in commercial nuclear technology
• With China opposing India, NSG membership will bemore difficult