Obama names Clinton as certification authority of Indo-U.S. civilian nuclear deal

Washington, Mar 11(ANI): United States President Barack Obama has appointed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as the new certification authority to verify the Indo-U.S. civilian nuclear agreement after every six months.

"By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I hereby delegate to you (Secretary of State) the functions conferred upon the President by section 204(c) of the United States-India Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Nonproliferation Enhancement Act (Public Law 110-369)," Obama said in a signed memorandum issued to the Secretary of State on Wednesday.

The section 204(c) of the United States-India Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Nonproliferation Enhancement Act (Public Law 110-369) states: "Not later than six months after the date of the enactment of the Act, and every six months thereafter, the (U.S) President shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on efforts by the United States pursuant to subsections (a) and (b)."

The Indo-U.S. civilian nuclear agreement, known also as the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal, refers to a bilateral accord on civil nuclear cooperation between the two countries.

The framework for this agreement was a July 18, 2005 joint statement by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and then U.S. President George W. Bush, under which India agreed to separate its civil and military nuclear facilities and place all its civil nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.

In exchange, the United States agreed to work toward full civil nuclear cooperation with India.

Bush, signed the legislation on the Indo-US nuclear deal, approved by the U.S. Congress, into law, now called the United States-India Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Non-proliferation Enhancement Act, on October 8, 2008.

Union External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his counterpart Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed the agreement on 10 October, 2008. (ANI)