MEXICO CITY: India today received crucial support of Mexico in its bid to become member of the NSG ahead of a plenary meeting of the 48-nation bloc whose members are allowed to trade in and export nuclear technology.
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto announced his country's support to India's bid for membership of the elite Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) after holding wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on a range of bilateral and global issues.
"Mexico supports positively and constructively India's membership of the NSG," the Mexican President said at a joint media interaction with Modi. On his part, the Prime Minister thanked Mexico for its support and called the country an important partner for India's energy security.
"We are looking to move beyond buyer-seller relationship and into a long-term partnership... We have agreed to develop a roadmap of concrete outcomes to upgrade our ties to a Strategic Partnership," said the Prime Minister who arrived here earlier in the day from Washington on the last leg of his five-nation tour.
Modi also thanked President Neito for Mexico's positive and constructive support for India's membership of the NSG. "President and I recognize the opportunities and challenges of this century. We both feel that our growing convergence on international issues allows us to join our capacities to strengthen international regimes of strategic importance," he said.
In their talks, Modi and Nieto explored ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in a number of key areas including in trade and investment, information technology, climate change and energy. Mexico is a key member of the NSG and its support to India's bid for entry into NSG is seen as important. Modi had visited Switzerland, another key member of the NSG, before travelling to the US, and the European country - known to have strong proliferation concerns - had announced its support to India's candidature for the atomic trading club.