A group of eminent nuclear scientists, including Dr. H N Sethna, Dr. P K Iyengar, Dr. M R Srinivasan and others, met Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh here today and welcomed his statements in Parliament earlier this week on the agreement India is negotiating with the United States of America and the International Atomic Energy Agency on cooperation in civil nuclear energy. One of the scientists, Dr. M R Srinivasan, summed up the view of the group stating: "Your statement was beautiful. We loved it."

The scientists reiterated their concerns about the changes being sought by members of the US Congress to the July 18th 2005 Joint Statement issued by the U.S. President, Mr. George Bush and Prime Minister Singh. The Prime Minister reiterated the assurances he had given to Parliament in this regard.

The Prime Minister invited the nuclear scientists to "help outline a path to take advantage of this new opening (provided by the nuclear agreement) to end the nuclear apartheid against India." He asked them to show "how best to use the opportunities on the horizon, while minimising the risks and taking care of our national interests."

The 90 minute meeting covered a wide range of issues. The Prime Minister asked the Department of Atomic Energy and the National Security Advisor to remain in touch with the scientists and take their advise while negotiating the safeguards agreement and the India-specific additional protocol with the IAEA.