Top U.S. and Indian officials plan to sign a bilateral nuclear trade agreement Friday in Washington, the final step of a contentious three-year process that has raised the hackles of traditional nonproliferation advocates, Reuters reported (see GSN, Oct. 7).
The ceremony is to be made possible by President George W. Bush signing domestic implementing legislation approved last week. He has scheduled a White House signing ceremony for this afternoon. He will also need to issue some additional certifications related to the deal, but those are expected soon.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee are set to ink the final deal Friday. The event follows a missed opportunity last Saturday when Rice visited New Delhi, but the White House had not yet completed its final steps.
The trade agreement would enable India to purchase U.S. nuclear materials and technology for the first time since 1974. An Indian trade group has estimated that India could purchase up to 20 nuclear plants for about $27 billion over the next 15 years from U.S. and other suppliers, Reuters reported (Arshad Mohammed, Reuters, Oct. 7).