External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has arrived in Washington as part of his maiden bilateral visit to the United States, during which the civil nuclear deal is expected to dominate the parleys.

Mukherjee is scheduled to meet Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice tomorrow at 8:45 am (6:15 pm IST). The minister will go to the White House in the afternoon to meet President George W Bush [Images] as well as National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley.

Senior officials have been stressing that in Mukherjee's meetings, a range of issues on bilateral, regional and global topics will be discussed, but there is also the feeling that the civilian nuclear initiative will merit a high degree of importance.

The feeling is that the Bush administration would seek to know Mukerjee's opinion and that of the government of India on this critical issue, given the important role he has played in the nuclear initiative. Mukherjee will also get to know the important timelines left to be resolved if the nuclear deal is to get through this session of US Congress.

Top lawmakers from the US have repeatedly reminded India about the absolute timelines left for the second session of the 110th Congress to pass the nuclear deal.

Given the crowded Congressional agenda in an election year, lawmakers have expressed the opinion that the deal will have to come to Capitol Hill by the end of May, if passage is to be possible by the end of July, prior to Congress breaking away for the summer recess.

Some analysts have privately expressed the view that Congress may still have time in a lame duck session, after the November 4 Presidential elections to wrap up the civilian nuclear deal.

But the warning is also that there may not be a lame duck session in the aftermath of the elections if the Democrats come out on top. They are likely to start the slate afresh on many unfinished businesses, including the civilian nuclear deal.

The Indian delegation comprises Ambassador to the United States Ronen Sen, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon, Deputy Chief of the Indian Mission Raminder Singh Jassal and Joint Secretary (Americas) Gayatri Kumar.

Image: External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee with Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon on board the Air India Flight to New York.

Photograph: Jay Mandal