India-US Nuclear Deal: A Big Win

The Indo-US nuclear deal got off to a roaring start in the US Congress on Tuesday. The House International Relations Committee, considered a tough cookie, endorsed the deal by an overwhelming 37-5 margin, says The Times of India.

In a three-hour long debate preceding the vote, the committee consistently turned down killer amendments proposed by the opponents of the deal, many of them at the instance of Pakistan and China.

The House Committee’s action, which saw many sceptics of the deal turn around, was seen as a tribute to the sustained lobbying by the US administration and the Indian-American community.

The bipartisan support for the Bill — now renamed “US and India Nuclear Cooperation Promotion Act, 2006″ — determines its passage when it is put to a full-floor vote. A Senate version will be debated and put to vote on Thursday.

A senior Republican Senator and one of the co-chairs of India caucus John Cornyn has hailed the passing of a bill seeking implementation of landmark Indo-US nuclear deal noting that the agreement was important to protect the security interests of the United States.

“This is a historic hearing,” said Democrat representative Tom Lantos, a sponsor of the proposed legislation, says the BBC.

He said the importance of the bill could not be overstated and the deal signalled a “sweeping strategic re-alignment” of India’s global policies.

Some facts:
*India has 14 reactors in commercial operation and nine under construction.
*Nuclear power supplies about 3% of India’s electricity.
*By 2050, nuclear power is expected to provide 25% of the country’s electricity.
*India has limited coal and uranium reserves.
*Its huge thorium reserves – about 25% of the world’s total – are expected to fuel its nuclear power programme long-term.
(Source: Uranium Information Center)

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who has arrived in Pakistan for talks with President Pervez Musharraf and other top officials, is likely to discuss Pakistan’s concern over a possible India-US nuclear deal. She is on her way to Moscow to attend a foreign ministers’ meeting prior to the G-8 Summit planned for 15-17 July in St Petersburg.

In the past few months, President Musharraf seems to have responded to his changing relationship with the US by increasingly turning towards China, a country which was Pakistan’s Cold War ally and long-time friend, reports BBC.

“Since the announcement of the US India nuclear deal, Pakistan has been eager to secure similar US cooperation in the field of civilian nuclear power.

“But the Bush administration has made it clear that given Pakistan’s dubious record in nuclear proliferation, the country is not worthy of consideration for such cooperation.”