As work on the Indo-US nuclear deal enters its last leg, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is set to visit the US and France on a 10-day tour in the third week of September. This will be Singh’s first overseas visit after the NSG exemption. The PM will depart on September 22 and return on October 2.

Sources said Singh will meet President George W Bush in the US, the dates for which are being finalised between the two sides. On his way back, he will visit France where after attending the India-European Union summit in Marseilles, he will proceed on a bilateral visit to Paris to meet French President Nicholas Sarkozy. Since France and India have already finalised negotiations with regard to drawing up a bilateral agreement for civil nuclear cooperation, it is expected to figure in the bilateral talks and there is a strong possibility of the agreement being signed in Paris.

On September 22, Prime Minister Singh will leave for New York where he is slated to deliver a speech at the UN General Assembly on September 26. He is expected to make a strong bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

On September 25, he will attend a meeting on “The Achievements of the Millennium Development Goals” which will be chaired by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. India is one of the select few invited to attend the meeting.

Though the meeting with President Bush has not been finalised yet, the venue can either be Washington DC or New York.

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