PM to make flying visit to Washington

WASHINGTON: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will make what could arguably be the shortest visit by an Indian leader to a major foreign capital when he stops by for a mere six hours in Washington DC on September 25 to meet President Bush. "Don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-him," could well be the tagline for what is being dubbed a "working visit," a diplomatic label that sits below "official visit" and the grand "state visit" in the protocol register. Singh will arrive in the US capital from New York late afternoon on September 25 (a Thursday) to meet Bush in the White House Oval Office and the two will straightaway head from there to a "working dinner" – jokingly referred to among diplomats as an 'eat-while-you-talk' meeting. As things stand, there will be no other engagement -- not even a press conference or briefing -- and he will return to New York the same night. In fact, a 35-member Indian media party accompanying the prime minister is being advised to stay back in New York and told that briefing on the PM's White House engagement will take place after he returns to New York. Several reasons are being advanced for this spare, no-frills visit. Both sides want to avoid any sign of triumphalism over the expected passage of the US-India nuclear deal at a time the world community will be gathering in New York for the UN General Assembly. And although officials expect the agreement to be cleared by Congress, they prefer to be circumspect, just in case... The Indian side is also leery of the final contours of the agreement. An additional factor is the PM's own tight schedule. He is scheduled to make a speech on the Millennium Development Goals on 25th morning and his UN GA address is slotted for 26th morning. So that leaves him only the afternoon and evening of 25th for the DC stopover. Between all this, he will also squeeze in an Indian community reception in New York, and a few bilateral meetings, including one with President Zardari of Pakistan. Therefore, no pomp and ceremony, no bells and whistles, no prolonged stay - and no media engagement in Washington DC. Things could change if Congress okays the nuclear agreement well before the Prime Minister arrives here, but officials once again expect it to go down to the wire, as it did in Congress the first time around when the vote was taken past 2 a.m. on the final day of the session leaving no time to plan any celebration. Typically, the White House likes to avoid big visits to Washington DC in September when the UN General Assembly convenes, bringing scores of world leaders to New York. The US President himself goes to Turtle Bay, site of the UN, for his address, and meets world leaders at a reception he hosts. Bush has made exceptions to this ritual, and in recent years, squeezed in a few invitees to Washington DC. In fact, Singh will be followed to the capital by the Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who meets Bush at the White House on September 26. Besides, Singh has already had the privilege of a state visit with all the accompanying 'band-baja' when he came here in July 2005 (when the nuclear deal was signed). He is only one of only six international leaders to be feted with a state banquet in eight years of Bush White House - said to be the lowest among all modern presidencies. Most of the ceremonial visits involve close allies or developing country leaders (Mexico, Poland, Philippines, and Kenya got the red carpet; the last state dinner in May 2007 was for Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.) Bush, who is said to dislike the starchy events - prefers the rough and tumble of his ranch - hosted what was described as the last black-tie state dinner of his presidency on Tuesday for President John Kufuor of Ghana. The two joked about how they will both soon belong to the club of ex-presidents, having come to office at around the same time and bowing out also around the same time. Singh, on the other hand, will be hoping his US engagement, and the nuclear deal that resulted from it, will bring him back to another term in South Block.
source : times of india