'US-India nuke deal will be completed soon'
Washington,
Nov
8:
At
a
White
House
Diwali
function,
Undersecretary
of
State
for
Political
Affairs
Nicholas
Burns
has
said
that
he
believes
in
the
US-India
civil
nuclear
agreement
and
hopes
that
''we
will
see
it
completed
very
soon.''
''We
are
working
on
civil-nuclear
cooperation,
as
I'm
sure
you
are
aware,
and
all
of
us
in
government
are
deeply
grateful
for
the
strong
support
the
Indian-American
community
has
shown
for
this
initiative,''
he
said.
He said, ''we are proud to share in the celebration of Diwali, for the fifth year, here at the White House.'' Also present at yesterday's function was Treasury Secretary Henry M Paulson, Jr who, as Burns put it, ''just returned from a very successful trip to India.'' Though President Bush was not present, a letter with his signature was given to participants, greeting them on the occasion. Representatives of Indian-American community also attended.
Mr Burns said, ''Secretary Paulson is working on a major infrastructure initiative that would harness the private sectors in India and the United States to help build what India needs.'' ''Expanding our engagement on all levels of government, civil society, and the private sector will encourage India's emergence as a positive force,'' he said.
Last week, the US House of Representatives approved a resolution recognizing the significance of Diwali, the 'festival of lights.' The house adopted the resolution by a vote of 358-0, with 204 Democrats and 154 Republicans supporting it.
It not only acknowledges an important feast in the Hindu, Sikh and Jain religions, but recognizes the importance of the South Asian community in the United States.
Earlier, Mr Burns said, the rate of legal immigrants from India who become American citizens had now increased from 56 per cent in 1995 to 65 per cent.
''That is a remarkable statistic. It means that two-thirds decide not simply to live here as permanent residents, but to take that next step of allegiance to the United States. I think there is no question that the United States is better off as a result.'' He said Students from India come here to learn, and end up becoming leaders in their fields and changing American life -- people like Rajat Gupta, or Indra Nooyi, or the late astronaut Kalpana Chawla.
Burns
said,
''Cooperation
between
our
two
governments
has
risen
to
unprecedented
levels
in
the
history
of
our
bilateral
relations.
In
the
last
few
years,
we
have
launched
important
initiatives
in
areas
including
education,
agriculture,
clean
energy,
counter-terrorism,
space
research,
and
economic
development.''
UNI