Can Prime Minister Singh push through a Nuclear Deal with Japan?
October 21, 2010 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh undertakes a three-nation week-long visit to Japan, Vietnam, and Malaysia from 24 October. At a time when the security environment in the East Asian region has become more volatile than ever before, Prime Minister Singh’s visit to Japan assumes greater importance. There is an element of optimism in both countries and both expect benefits to accrue from Singh’s visit. Relations between India and Japan are warming up. So is the case between India and Vietnam. Apart from convergence of interests in the defence and security realms, the economic component is also being strengthened. Greater integration and engagement in diverse fields would also give a fillip to India’s ‘Look East’ policy. Three issues are going to dominate Singh’s talks with his Japanese counterpart: civil nuclear cooperation, enhancing trade ties with possible conclusion of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CEPA) that has been pending for quite some time, and
