Govt approves 123 Agreement, says all concerns addressed

New Delhi, July 25 (UNI) The Government today approved the 123 Agreement, reached in Washington last week to operationalise the India-US nuclear deal and said all concerns of India had been adequately addressed in the Agreement.

The approval was given at a joint meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) and the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

''All concerns of India have been reflected and adequately addressed'' in the Agreement, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters after an hour-long meeting held at the Prime Minister's residence.

India's concerns related to right to test nuclear weapons, guarantee of life time fuel supply and the right to reprocess the spent fuel.

''The text of the 123 Agreement was placed before the members at the joint meeting and they approved the Agreement,'' Mr Mukherjee said.

Besides Mr Mukherjee, others who attended today's meeting included Defence Minister A K Antony, Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad.

Mr Mukherjee said the Government had started consultations on the issue with UPA partners .

The Prime Minister will discuss the Agreement with the CPI (M) leaders tomorrow and then with other Left parties. He will also apprise the Opposition leaders, including former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee L K Advani and Jaswant Singh, on the Agreement before the monsoon session of Parliament commences on August 10.

''Before the Parliament session, we will be able to discuss the issue with other political parties,'' Mr Mukherjee said.

He said the Prime Minister will make a suo motu statement on the Agreement on the first working day of the monsoon session, and the Agreement will then be tabled in Parliament.

Declining to give details of the Agreement, he said National Security Advisor M K Narayanan, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar would hold joint press meet shortly.

The Minister said it had been agreed that both countries would make an announcement simultaneously.

Before the 123 Agreement could be presented to the US Congress for approval, the Government has to conclude India-specific safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) will also have to amend its guidelines for nuclear transfers between India and NSG members.

Thereafter, India will have to negotiate separate nuclear cooperation agreement with the supplier countries before actual commencement of nuclear fuel can begin.

UNI