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Clinton may visit India before March

Carol Giacomo in United Nations

US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told her Indian counterpart Jaswant Singh yesterday that President Bill Clinton considers a trip to south Asia 'a missing piece in his life,' a senior US official said.

Albright and Jaswant Singh did not schedule a date for Clinton's visit, the first to the region by a US president in two decades, the official said. But US officials have told Reuters they are looking for Clinton to make the trip as early as January and no later than March.

A firm date and other fundamental decisions are not expected until after a new Indian government takes office next month.

Meanwhile, the United States wants India and Pakistan to take steps to 'create a positive environment' for the visit, the senior US official said. This included a discussion of US sanctions that might be lifted in return for Indian movement on non-proliferation concerns, the US official said.

He said Singh told Albright that India was looking forward to a presidential trip. Her reply: ''So is the president. That is a missing piece in his life.''

India is the world's largest democracy, has nuclear weapons capability, is a key regional actor and has growing potential as a US trading partner.

Albright gave Singh a collection of essays entitled, Engaging India and wrote this inscription: ''I cannot attest to all the articles in this volume but I can endorse the title. Shall we?''

Clinton postponed plans for a south Asia trip after India, followed by Pakistan, tested nuclear weapons in May 1998.

US officials initially pressed for both states to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty banning nuclear tests and take other non-proliferation steps before rescheduling the visit.

US officials said they still are pushing that agenda, but not as a prerequisite to a presidential trip.

However, they are hoping the new Indian government will quickly sign the CTBT and move to embrace other non-proliferation proposals -- such as a halt to fissile material production. This would put pressure on Pakistan to follow suit.

A trip to the region -- including stops in Pakistan and Bangladesh as well as India -- is 'long overdue,' the senior US official said.

Clinton wants to ''lay the groundwork for our future relations in the region. The next 20 years will be very important for US interests in the region,'' he said.

Albright stressed to Singh that stopping the spread of weapons of mass destruction is one of America's highest priorities for the next century.

The US side described Albright's 45-minute meeting with Singh on the fringes of the UN General Assembly as 'cordial'. She last saw him in Singapore in August.

Singh invited Albright to visit India as a prelude to Clinton's trip and the two sides are working on a date.

As expected, Albright stressed US support for India and Pakistan to resume as soon as possible the direct dialogue between their two prime ministers initiated last February in Lahore, the US official said.

Albright and Singh discussed the proposed new world trade talks as well as the importance of counter-narcotics and counter- terrorism efforts, including concerns about exiled Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, who is charged with masterminding last year's bombing of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

UNI

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