Tuesday, May 30 2006 10:48 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Putrajaya (Malaysia): India yesterday(May 29,2006) expressed the hope that Iran will be able to resolve the current controversy over its nuclear programme within the ambit of the IAEA, as senior officials from NAM countries tried to reach a consensus on a statement on the issue.

"We hope (the nuclear programme) issue is amicably sorted out," Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma said after meeting his Iranian counterpart Manoucher Mottaki, on the sidelines of the NAM's Ministerial Meeting underway here.

"Iran has said it is going to engage the EU in talks over the issue," Sharma told sources.

A statement on Iran's nuclear ambitions is to be issued at the end of the two-day foreign ministers' meeting here tomorrow evening. However, the contents and the wordings in the statement have been contested by some countries.

Singapore said the statement needed to be more 'balanced.'

Sharma also held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Sri Lanka, Cuba, Vietnam, Belarus and Indonesia.

"All the countries expressed a keen desire to expand ties with India and were keen on a multi-sectoral engagement with New Delhi in fields like science and technology, IT, space etc," he said.

Anand Sharma said there was also a general across the board support for India's candidature for UN Security Council seat.

Earlier, in an intervention at a special Ministerial Meeting of the G77 and China, the minister said that New Delhi supported reform efforts aimed at ensuring an efficient and effective Secretariat of the UN that is 'accountable to its collective membership.'