Bush to sign Indo-US Civil Nuclear Cooperation Bill today

Washington, Oct 8 : US President George W. Bush will sign the India-US Civil Nuclear Cooperation Bill here today.

The "US-India Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Nonproliferation Enhancement Act, HR 7081" is scheduled to be signed into a law at 12:20 a.m. IST.

The US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who arrived in India last week to sign the deal after the US Congress ratified the historic nuclear pact, but couldn't ink the pact because of bureaucratic procedures.

She promised that the US would stand by its commitments and US President George W. Bush would sign the deal soon.

Rice further said that the delay is not that unusual because legislation needed to be processed before being sent to the White House.

The Indian side is inclined to see Bush first sign the legislation into law as it expects the US President's accompanying statement to clarify certain aspects, particularly fuel assurance supply, that have created apprehensions.

Earlier, the US Senate had approved the landmark Indo-US civil nuclear deal. he 100-member US Senate approved the Indo-US nuclear deal paving the way for its operationalisation. While 86 Senators voted for the deal, 13 opposed it.

The US Senate approved the legislation on the deal four days after the US House of Representatives passed the agreement by a clear majority (298-117 votes).

ANI