Bush to sign nuclear deal on Wednesday

Washington, Oct 5 (UNI) President George W Bush will sign the Indo-US nuclear agreement into law on Wednesday, lifting the global ban on the export of nuclear fuel and technology to India which came into effect in 1974 when New Delhi under the leadership of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi tested its first atomic device.

A White House Spokesman who gave this information today sprang a bit of surprise because there was no such mention of the signing during Secretary of Condoleezza Rice's just concluded visit to New Delhi.

President Bush has invited some prominent Congressmen for Wednesday's signing ceremony scheduled to take place in the White House. This will see an end to the long and arduous process of approval of the deal which began in July 2005 with President Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh signing the deal.

The US Congress accorded its final approval to the pact last week when the Senate passed a Bill to that effect. The deal had already been passed by the House of Representatives earlier. Both houses gave their endorsement by an overwhelming majority.

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