Modi to Xi: China Should Make 'Objective, Fair Assessment' of Indian Membership of NSG

New Delhi: In a 45-minute meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping at the sidelines of the SCO summit n Tashkent on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged China to "make a fair and objective assessment of India's application and judge it on its own merit", the Indian foreign ministry spokesperson said.

Modi also said "China should contribute to the emerging consensus in Seoul." What Xi said in response is not known.  Ahead of the meeting, however, the Chinese foreign ministry had said the NSG issue was not a "bilateral issue" and would not affect relations between the two countries.

The question of India's application for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group – yea, nay or may be – could well by decided by Friday morning, with a special session of the 48-nation cartel convened for  the night of June 23 as part of its two-day plenary meeting in Seoul. Though the South Korea hosts flagged the question of membership in their opening remarks on Thursday morning, there was no discussion about the issue as part of the general agenda on the first day. Indian diplomatic sources confirm that the special session of NSG members on Thursday night will deliberate on India's membership bid.

Click below for an interactive guide to India's journey down the NSG road so far...

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