The United Nations' nuclear agency has approved crucial details regarding the proposed nuclear cooperation deal between the United States and India.
The International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors approved an inspections plan for Indian nuclear facilities on Friday. IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said he believed the agreement is good for India and the world.
The U.S.-Indian accord proposes the sale of U.S. nuclear fuel and technology to India. It is a landmark deal because India has tested nuclear weapons and has not signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Now India needs a waiver from the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group to allow trade with a country that has not signed that treaty. A spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council, Gordon Johndroe
said he hopes the group quickly revises its guidelines to enable the deal so the nuclear cooperation agreement can be submitted to the U.S. Congress for final approval later this year. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said the Bush administration will do whatever it can to make sure the deal is approved. Proponents of the agreement say it will help prevent the spread of dangerous nuclear technology.
India's communist and opposition parties object to the nuclear deal, saying it would align the country too closely with Washington and compromise India's national security.