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President Bush Signs U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Agreement

18 December 2006

Law seen as centerpiece of new strategic partnership between democracies

Washington – President Bush took a major step toward building a new strategic partnership with the world’s largest democracy by signing a new law expanding U.S. civil nuclear cooperation with India.

“The United States and India are natural partners,” Bush said at the December 18 White House signing ceremony.  “The rivalries that once kept our nations apart are no more, and today, America and India are united by deeply held values.”

The law, known as the U.S.-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act, lifts long-standing legal restrictions – enacted after a series of nuclear weapons tests by India in the 1970s – that prevented U.S. companies from trading in nuclear fuels and investing in India’s civil nuclear industry.  (See related article.)   

These restrictions were an aggravating factor in U.S.-Indian relations until 2005, when the president offered U.S. support in exchange for India’s acceptance of international inspectors to verify that 14 civil nuclear facilities are not diverting materials to build nuclear weapons, Under Secretary of State R. Nicholas Burns said December 18.

“India has conducted its civilian nuclear energy program in a safe and responsible way for decades,” Bush said.  “After 30 years outside the system, India will now operate its civilian nuclear energy program under internationally accepted guidelines -- and the world is going to be safer as a result.”

India’s economy and environment will benefit further from decreased reliance on fossil fuels, and both countries will benefit from strengthened trade ties, Bush said, calling the law a “foundation for a new strategic partnership.”  

The agreement, Burns added, is the centerpiece of a series of initiatives identified by Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to build the U.S.-Indian strategic partnership to promote democracy in the region, deepen military-to-military relations and further expand counterterrorism cooperation between Washington and New Delhi, a development that will contribute positively to stability in the wider region.  (See related article.)

A transcript of Bush’s remarks and a fact sheet outlining the agreement are available on the White House Web site.

For more information on U.S. policies, see U.S.-India: Strengthening a Global Partnership.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)