PM to receive Bush against protocol

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be at the IGI Airport to receive the US President George W Bush when he lands on March 1.

This will be the second occasion when the PM will break the protocol to receive a head of the state.

In January Manmohan Singh had done the same to greet the Saudi Arabia King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud at the airport.

Disclosing this in New Delhi Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran also said that on the agreement on the civil nuclear energy issue both the countries are close but have still not finalised the final draft.

On Monday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had called the PM and said that she hoped that the loose ends in the N-deal would be tied up soon.

He also welcomed Bush's sattement that all all citizens of Kashmir are citizens of India and added that the issue of denying of visa to scientist has been taken up with the US and there is a need for a liberal visa regime.

On the Iran gas pipeline issue he said that India had no intention of dropping the pipeline project.

India has been pursuing the Iran gas pipeline issue as it feels that this will give it a secure supply of gas and will be crucial for the energy security of the country.

During the recent visit of the Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Mehdi Safari, both the countries had 'reaffirmed their commitment to the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline and an early ratification of the LNG (liquefied natural gas) deal' signed in June 2005.

The June agreement, worth $22 billion, provides for the import of 5 million tons of Iranian gas annually over a 25-year period from 2009.

The pipeline would supply gas from the South Pars offshore fields in the Gulf.

(With inputs from Parul Malhotra)