Driven by a sense of urgency to step up the pace on the nuclear deal, India and US have decided to hold negotiations on the 123 bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement next week in South Africa. These talks will be held on the margins of the Nuclear Suppliers Group plenary meet in Cape Town starting Monday.

The meeting assumes significance given Washington’s visible frustration over the progress made in the last round of negotiations here on March 26-30. Sources told The Sunday Express that both sides will hope to clear a lot of the “technical differences” over the text of the agreement. In fact, a “positive meeting” here could hold the key to whether the nuclear deal can be wrapped up this year itself.

It’s learnt that following high-level meetings in the Prime Minister’s Office last week, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has been asked to schedule talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency on the safeguards agreement soon. India has to show sufficient progress on this front by the time the 123 agreement reaches the US Congress for approval.

While the US is said to have been keen on a higher-level interaction, India felt another meeting between the negotiators would help narrow the gap before things are taken to the next level.

So it was decided to hold a meeting in South Africa as the US negotiator on the 123 Agreement Richard Stratford, who is the Director of Nuclear Energy, Safety and Security in the State Department, would be present there.

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