The decision to end the bilateral deep freeze came in the wake of the eighth round of talks between External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh and US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott at the end of January, when it became apparent that Washington was ready to at least informally accept New Delhi's nuclear status.

Over the last couple of months, the messages from Canberra, said highly placed sources in the Government, had become increasingly insistent and placatory. Their tone was a far cry from the public and private statements delivered in May after India went nuclear, sources added.

Today the Australian High Commission issued a press release on the visit, openly describing it as the ``resumption of bilateral dialogue at the Ministeriallevel.'' Fischer will be here from February 25-27.

Even as the world criticised India in the wake of nuclear tests, Canberra, which has since the Second World War survived under the protection of the US nuclear umbrella, seemed to have taken it upon itself to play the lead aggrieved party.

The High Commissioner here was temporarily recalled and the military attache withdrawn. Indian military officers on study tours in Australia were peremptorily told that they need not continue with their visit any longer.

New Delhi reacted furiously, the first expression of its own anger being the recall of India's military attache from Canberra. Soon, it set about using as leverage its vast imports of coal and wool from Australia, and put out word that it was ready to look at alternative sourcing of products.

But as India's dialogue on the nuclear question with four nuclear powers proceeded apace, other countries also took up threads of their pre-nuclear relationships with India. Until this week, Australia was amongthe last few nations with whom foreign office consultations had still not resumed.

The decision to invite Fischer was taken with great deliberation. He is seen to be a ``pro-India person'' in the John Howard Government and has visited India earlier. In contrast, the statements made by Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, whether in 1996 when India sought to block the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) from coming into being or during the nuclear tests, still rankle here.

Meanwhile, India's corporate houses also did their share by gently pointing out to the Government that it wasn't going to do business much good if the policy meant that India was going to be marginalised by the world's entrepreneurs.

Fischer will co-chair the sixth meeting of the Australia-India joint ministerial committee and participate in the bilateral joint business council. He is also set to meet a number of ministers, including his host, Commerce Minister R K Hegde. It is believed that the decision to allow him to call on PrimeMinister A B Vajpayee, however, has still not been taken.