Indian Prime minister Narendra Modi met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday in Tashkent, as India made a last ditch effort to gain China's support just hours before the all important plenary meeting begins in Seoul. The meedint will decide on India's application for Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) membership.

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The 45-minute meeting between Modi and Xi happened on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), where today India and Pakistan were inducted as full-time members of the organization.     

According to sources in New Delhi, the Indian PM is believed to have called on the Chinese president to make a fair and objective assessment on India's application for NSG membership. The outcome of this meeting is crucial for New Delhi, given that opposition from China will heavily dampen India's chances of becoming a member of the group.    

The 48-member NSG works on the principle of consensus. This means that opposition even from a single member will ruin India's chances to enter the elite nuclear club. China is leading the opposition bloc against India on the grounds that it is not a signatory to the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Beijing also argued that India's inclusion into NSG would disturb strategic peace in South Asia, where India shares a hostile relationship with Pakistan. Pakistan too has applied for NSG membership, and its candidature is completely backed by China.         

The other prominent countries supporting China's stance are reportedly Brazil, Turkey, Ireland, Austria, and New Zealand. Top sources in New Delhi suggest that India is constantly negotiating with all the opposing countries through phone calls and closed-door meetings. Reports from Indian sources indicate that negotiations may run right down to the wire.                              

In 2008, when India received a special NSG waiver at the behest U.S, India successfully managed to negotiate with all the opposing countries during final hours of the meeting. Many in New Delhi are optimistic that the Indian government may pull off the same feat at the two plenary meetings in Seoul, which will end on Friday.

TagsIndia, India and China, Narendra Modi, Xi Jinping, Modi and XI