New Delhi: Former US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott today (Sep 21, 2004) said he is worried that India's focus in the bilateral ties was becoming a "bit too narrow", concentrating on the progress in the "strategic partnership" agreement.

"There is a fixation in the Indian side on the acronym NSSP (Next Steps in Strategic Partnership). But it would be wrong to judge the health of Indo-US relations exclusively on the basis of the how fast or slow was the progress made on it," he said in an interaction with Indian MPs and intellectuals in New Delhi.

Stating that India was more enthusiastic on progress on the NSSP agreement signed between US President George W Bush and the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for increasing collaboration in the space technology and other fields, he said there was need to broaden the ambit of the dialogue.

Talbott, a former Clinton Administration official, who now heads the leading US think-tank Brooking Institution, said focussing too much on the agreement could create bases for disappointment and suspicion.

"As a member of the NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty) club, the US cannot do certain things that India would like it to do as part of the agreement," he said.