New York, Sept 24: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will have a meeting with US President George W Bush today over lunch during which the issue of sending Indian troops to Iraq is expected to come up.
The two sides are also likely to discuss transfers in the "trinity issues" of space, civilian nuclear energy and missile defence.
Considerable significance is being attached to the luncheon meet at the US mission at the UN headquarters with the Indian side including External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha, National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra, Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal and India's ambassador to the US Lalit Mansingh.
While Bush is meeting a number of world leaders during his three-day stay here, he is having a bilateral luncheon meeting only with Vajpayee.

The US President will have a separate meeting with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf the same day.



Vajpayee-Bush meeting takes place a day before the Indian leader addresses the UN General Assembly where he is expected to focus on the threats posed by terrorism and the need for the international community to combat the scourge unitedly.


Bureau Report