VIENNA: Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG ) preliminary meeting was held in Vienna on Thursday June 9, 2016.

The issue of Indian inclusion in the group came under consideration in the meeting.

The final session would be held in Seoul South Korea from June 20-24.

China openly opposed Indian inclusion in the Nuclear Supplier Group and made it conditional with the inclusion of Pakistan in the NSG Group.

China said that if India had to be included in the group then Pakistan should also be included in the group otherwise China will oppose the unilateral inclusion of India in the NSG.

As per the Indian media reports other than China, Turkey, Ireland, Australia and South Africa also opposed Indian inclusion in the NSG group.

Another important aspect is that the member countries must be signatory to the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty NPT.

All existing 48 members of the elite NSG group are NPT signatories. However both Pakistan and India are although nuclear states but have still not signed NPT.

This is one of the main reason the member countries are adopting to block the entry of India in the NSG group as group members are not ready to waive off this condition for any state.

It is pertinent to mention here that United States Secretary of the State John Kerry had written a letter to the NSG members urging them to include India in the NSG.

However with China standing tall against the Indian aspirations along with Turkey and other above mentioned countries India will not be able to get the membership of the NSG.

The consent of all NSG members is must for the inclusion of any new member into the group.

However another important aspect is that if India gets the membership of NSG earlier than Pakistan then India would be able to block Pakistan’s entry into the NSG.

Pakistan has also applied for the membership of the NSG and has started lobbying for the membership of the elite panel.

The final decision in this regard would be taken in the Seoul meeting on June 20-24.