20 July : India and the US have agreed to enter into an understanding on end-use monitoring agreement that will pave the way for greater defence cooperation as New Delhi conveyed its decision to locate two nuclear parks for American companies.
After a hectic day of meetings with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that the two countries have agreed to enter into a strategic dialogue based on five pillars of cooperation.
The Prime Minister will make his first state visit to Washington during the Obama administration on 24th November.
“We share a common trait by rolling up our sleeves and get things done. We have shown progress also by finalising important agreements today including the end user agreement that will pave the way for greater defence cooperation between our countries and technology safeguards agreement,” Clinton told a joint press conference with Krishna.
In his remarks, Krishna said that the two countries have agreed on the end use monitoring arrangements that will henceforth be referred to in the letters of acceptance in procurement of defence equipment and technologies.
Clinton said the Prime Minister had informed her about India’s decision to allocate two sites for American civil nuclear reactors.
This, she said, will take forward the civil nuclear cooperation between the two countries, creating jobs in both the nations besides producing the much-needed energy in India.
She hoped India would be ready for the Liabilities Agreement in the nuclear field.
On the controversy surrounding G-8 decision to curb transfer of enrichment and reprocessing technology (ENR), Clinton made it clear that it would not undermine the Indo-US civil nuclear deal but was aimed at preventing “unauthorised” countries from getting such sensitive knowhow.
“We have just completed a civil nuclear deal with India. So if it is done within the appropriate channels and carefully safeguarded, as it is in the case of India, that is appropriate,” the Secretary of State said.
“But we are very much opposed to unauthorised and inappropriate transfers that unfortunately can take place by certain countries or non state actors doing so. So there is a right way to do it and there is wrong way to do it,” he said.
She added that the US is “seeking advice and suggestions from India about how we can prevent the unauthorised and dangerous transfer of nuke technology and material which poses a threat to the entire world.”