India and the US on Friday announced they had finalised the text of the ?historic? 123 Agreement that enables full civil nuclear energy cooperation between the two countries and enables American and Indian firms to participate in each other?s civil nuclear energy sectors.
Making the announcement, national security advisor MK Narayanan this evening said all hurdles in the 123 Agreement were removed and the text enabling nuclear energy cooperation finalised at the fifth and final round of negotiations last week in Washington. Nuclear commerce between Indian and US companies had been banned since the early 1970s because of India?s refusal to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
?Civil nuclear cooperation between the United States and India will offer enormous strategic and economic benefits to both countries, including enhanced energy security, a more environmentally-friendly energy source, greater economic opportunities, and more robust non-proliferation efforts,? said a joint statement issued by external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee and US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice.
The text of the agreement, which would be made public soon, addresses concerns raised by the opposition as well as the Indian nuclear community about India getting a bad deal, Narayanan said.