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India, US all set to seal landmark nuclear deal

Americas, Fri, 10 Oct 2008 IANS

Washington, Oct 10 (IANS) With India's concerns over India-US civil nuclear deal met, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are all set to sign the bilateral 123 pact to seal the landmark accord.

 

Mukherjee and Rice will ink the 'Agreement for Cooperation between the Government of India and the Government of the United States of America concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy' in the Benjamin Franklin Room of State Department at 4 p.m. Friday (1:30 a.m. Saturday India time).

 

 

The two had failed to sign the agreement to resume nuclear commerce after 34 years, when Rice visited New Delhi last weekend with India concerned over a couple of riders relating to fuel supply assurances and reprocessing in the legislation approving the deal.

 

 

The landmark accord envisioned by US President George W. Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on July 18, 2005 will end the ban on nuclear trade since India conducted a 'Peaceful Nuclear Explosion' in May 1974.

 

 

The Indian minister is coming to sign the bilateral agreement just two days after Bush signed a historic enabling law with an assertion that it does not change US commitments on nuclear fuel assurances and reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel.

 

 

'By undertaking new cooperation on civil nuclear energy, India will be able to count on a reliable fuel supply for its civilian reactors,' said Bush as he signed into law the Congressional approval of what he called a 'big deal' at a White House ceremony Wednesday.

 

 

An accompanying presidential statement made it more explicit.

 

 

'The legislation does not change the terms of the 123 Agreement as I submitted it to the Congress,' said Bush. It simply enabled him to bring the bilateral agreement 'into force and to accept on behalf of the United States the obligations contained in the agreement'.

 

 

'The agreement grants India advance consent to reprocessing which will be brought into effect upon conclusion of arrangements and procedures for a dedicated reprocessing facility under IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) safeguards,' he said.

 

 

'In addition, the legislation does not change the fuel assurance commitments that the US government has made to the government of India, as recorded in the 123 Agreement,' Bush maintained.

 

 

India's ambassador to the US, Ronen Sen, told reporters after the signing that the presidential statement with assurances on fuel supplies and 'advanced consent' for reprocessing 'absolutely' met India's concerns.

 

 

'I think the (Bush) statement speaks for itself... All concerns that have been expressed who fear the implications of certain elements of the legislation. All those have been met,' he said.

 

 

'I am confident because we negotiated the 123 Agreement with great care and I was confident right from the beginning that many of the concerns that had been expressed would be met like they have been in the past,' Sen said.

 

 

Asked about apprehensions that Washington could ask others in the Nuclear Suppliers Group to cut off fuel in the event of an atomic test by India, he said: 'I think we can keep on having questions and discussions repeatedly.'

 

 

'I feel we should be a little more confident of ourselves. We should have a little bit more self-esteem and we should not always require these reassurances. We should grow up... I feel this very strongly,' Sen said.

 


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