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.

Singh may either travel to Washington DC later in the day or, depending on the two leaders’ schedules, meet in New York. Diplomats are also trying to fix meetings with the two presidential candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain, depending on the availability of time.

On the sidelines of Singh’s speech at the UN General Assembly, a number of bilateral meetings are being planned with key world leaders, many of them from countries that had played a key role in Vienna in forging a consensus for the India specific NSG waiver.