The fact that China would opposed India's application to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group at its meeting on Thursday and Friday was expected. New Delhi appeared to be less prepared for the responses of a few other countries including Brazil, Turkey and Switzerland – all of whom reportedly opposed India's membership on the grounds that it isn't a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Switzerland's reversal is in some ways most egregious because it declared its support for India's membership earlier this month. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Geneva on June 6, with the express purpose of convincing the Swiss to back India's bid to join the NSG, a move that would open up access to nuclear fuel and technology.
Modi left Geneva believing he had convinced the Swiss to support India. In his joint statement with Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann, Modi explicitly laid out his appreciation for Switzerland's position.
"I am thankful to the President for Switzerland's understanding and support for India's membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. We have both agreed to support each other for our respective bids for the non-permanent membership of the UNSC," Prime Minister Modi had said in a joint statement with the Swiss President.
Yet reports suggest Geneva, rather than offering a full-throated backing of the Indian bid, called for an "objective criteria" before allowing new members at the meeting in Seoul, a position that somewhat mirrors Beijing's.
This means India will have to wait even longer to gain membership to the club, and that Modi's frantic diplomacy over the last two weeks in particular, visiting Switzerland and Mexico among other places, is yet to bear fruit.
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