Ahead of first briefings, Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran is travelling to the United States with a group of senior Government officials to drum up support for the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal among key Congressmen and Senators. He is expected to meet key India Caucus members including Gary Ackerman and Joe Wilson. Saran will also meet Tom Lantos, a political extremist who recently announced his support for the deal, and Senator Richard Lugar.

After these Thanksgiving visits, Saran will probably meet key Senators such as Edward Kennedy and Joe Biden, John McCain and Congressmen such as Henry Hyde seeking their support in the Senate and Congress. The support of these key people will ensure the passage of the deal.

Saran will also meet his counterpart Nick Burns and Richard Boucher who will be returning from a meeting with the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in Vienna. Boucher has been unsuccessful trying to convince NSG members to support the deal; China and Japan have raised several questions about the deal.