Bush signs US-India civilian nuclear law
US: US President George W. Bush on Wednesday signed
legislation to enact a landmark US-India civilian nuclear agreement,
celebrating “the growing ties between the world’s two largest
democracies.”
“This agreement sends a signal to the world: Nations that follow the
path to democracy and responsible behavior will find a friend in the
United States of America,” Bush said at a lavish White House signing
ceremony.
Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee will visit
Washington Friday to Washington so that he and US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice can formally sign the accord itself, the US State
Department announced.
Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh signed the deal in July
2005, touching off a difficult battle with wary lawmakers on either side
and critics who warn it undermines global efforts to curb the spread of
nuclear know-how. Evidently savoring the resulting diplomatic victory in
the twilight of his term, the US president welcomed “the honor of
signing legislation that builds on the growing ties between the world’s
two largest democracies.”
The agreement offers India access to sophisticated US technology and
cheap atomic energy in return for allowing UN inspections of some of its
civilian nuclear facilities — but not military nuclear sites.
Washington imposed a ban on US-Indian civilian nuclear trade after
India’s first nuclear test in 1974, but US officials have said a new
approach is needed to help the world’s largest democracy meet its
booming energy needs at a time of skyrocketing oil prices and global
warming fears. US lawmakers attached safeguards on preventing the spread
of nuclear weapons technology before passing it overwhelmingly last week
and handing the increasingly unpopular Bush administration a foreign
policy victory.
But critics say it still undermines global efforts to curb the spread
of nuclear weapons, because India has refused to sign the international
non-proliferation treaty (NPT). Bush said the accord meant India would
be able to satisfy its booming economy’s thirst for energy while curbing
its dependence on fossil fuels linked to climate change, while the
United States would gain access to India’s lucrative nuclear market.
“The American people are proud of our strong relationship with India.
And I am confident that the friendship between our two nations will grow
even closer in the years ahead,” he said. Vice President Dick Cheney, US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, key
US lawmakers who backed the agreement, and India’s ambassador to
Washington, Ronen Sen, attended the ceremony.
Neither Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama nor Republican
rival John McCain were invited “because of their busy campaign
schedules,” White House spokesman Carlton Carroll said in a statement.
Washington, Thursday, AFP
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