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Rice in India, may not sign nuclear deal

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-10-04 14:22

NEW DELHI - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in India on Saturday after Congress ratified a historical nuclear pact, but was unlikely to sign the deal during her visit because of a bureaucratic "glitch".

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice left for India Friday to sign a civilian nuclear deal, a landmark in a budding strategic partnership and a foreign policy win for the Bush administration. [Agencies/File]

US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said an enabling legislation had not yet been formally "enrolled" in the US Congress - a required step before the pact is sent to President George W. Bush for signing into law.

In Washington, a Senate Democratic aide said such a delay was not that unusual because legislation needed to be carefully reviewed before being sent to the White House.

Indian officials too confirmed that a "signing ceremony" had not been planned during Rice's visit during which she is expected to also nudge New Delhi to buy American technology.

The deal, overturning a three-decade ban on US nuclear trade with India, is seen as bringing two of the world's largest democracies closer while opening up the Indian nuclear energy market worth billions of dollars.

Analysts said Rice, instrumental in rallying support for the pact in Congress which ratified it this week, would make a strong case for American companies such as General Electric and Westinghouse Electric, a unit of Japan's Toshiba Corp.

Rice was also likely to bring up the issue of terrorism in South Asia and the need for Pakistan and India to cooperate toward stability in Afghanistan.

"There are several components in her visit -- the business component is a logical aspect," said Robinder Sachdev, head of Imagindia Institute, an Indian think tank.

"Terrorism is the other important issue and there could be tactical discussions. In business, too much is at stake for the Americans."

Speaking to reporters in Germany, Rice said there should be a "regional integration strategy" of closer economic ties between Afghanistan and Central Asian states such as Kazakhstan -- where Rice will also visit this weekend -- as well as Pakistan and India.

Rice, who said the relationship between India and the United States was at a "very, very different level" in the wake of the nuclear deal approval, said the two countries were already discussing military sales, and should also boost cooperation in economic, educational, and agricultural programmes and humanitarian aid to other countries.

Rice will meet Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Lal Krishna Advani, leader of main Hindu--nationalist opposition Bharatiya Janata Party which opposed the deal for making India an unequal partner.

The India-US deal could open up around $27 billion in investment in 18-20 nuclear plants in India over the next 15 years, according to the Confederation of Indian Industry.

There is global competition for that business with France's Areva, US' General Electric, Japan's Hitachi Ltd and Russia's atomic energy agency Rosatom vying for contracts.

Some analysts say India could buy nuclear technology from the French or Russia, which is already building two 1,000 megawatt reactors at in southern India as part of a deal signed in 1988.

Also, India could expect to get a hefty discount from Russia on major deals, as it competes with the United States for influence over New Delhi.

Critics of the deal say it does grave damage to global efforts to contain the spread of nuclear weapons, by letting India import nuclear fuel and technology even though it has tested nuclear weapons and has never signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).