U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Cooperation Initiative

On March 2, 2006, President Bush and Prime Minister Singh announced in New Delhi that the United States and India have reached a historic agreement on civil nuclear cooperation. This initiative reflects the profound transformation in United States-India relations, a partnership that will promote democracy, stability, prosperity, and peace in the region and globally.

Under India’s civil military separation plan, which forms part of the U.S.-India civil nuclear cooperation initiative, India has agreed to:

• Place a majority of its existing power reactors and those under construction (14 of 22) under IAEA safeguards, and to place other associated upstream and downstream facilities that support those reactors under safeguards;
• Place all future civilian thermal power and civilian breeder reactors under safeguards;
• Negotiate a safeguards agreement that would place all Indian civilian nuclear facilities under safeguards in perpetuity;
• Permanently shut down the CIRUS reactor in 2010, shift the fuel core of the Apsara reactor purchased from France outside the Bhabha Atomic Research Center and place it under safeguards in 2010; and
• Identify and declare nine other research facilities as civilian.

In addition, under the initiative, India has pledged to:

• Negotiate and sign an Additional Protocol with the IAEA;
• Implement through appropriate rules and regulations India’s recent passage of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of May 2005, creating a robust national export control system;
• Refrain from transfers of enrichment and reprocessing technologies to states that do not already possess them and support efforts to limit their spread;
• Work with the United States to conclude a multilateral Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty; 
• Continue its unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing; and
• Adhere to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) guidelines.

This agreement has several specific and important benefits.

First, it deepens the U.S.-India strategic relationship,whose broadening scope will help ensure stability, prosperity, and peace in Asia and worldwide.

Second, the initiative will open significant business opportunities for American firms, as they will increasingly help meet India's demand for civilian nuclear technology, fuel, and support services. This translates into new jobs, incomes and markets for the United States.

Third, it will help meet India’s surging energy requirements in an environmentally friendly manner. The initiative enables India to rely increasingly on nuclear technology which is "clean" in comparison to other technologies, and will decrease India’s dependence on foreign oil and gas imports, such as those from Iran.

Finally, this initiative brings India into the global nuclear nonproliferation mainstream. For the first time, India has committed to take the significant steps described above that will end its 30 year isolation from the global regime and will increase the transparency of its civilian nuclear program, improve the safety and the effectiveness of that program, and provide oversight—again for the first time—over a large majority of Indian civilian nuclear reactors and the associated upstream and downstream facilities that support these reactors.

For its part, the United States is committed to working with the U.S. Congress to amend relevant domestic law to allow full peaceful nuclear cooperation with India, and to seeking agreement within the Nuclear Suppliers Group to accommodate this cooperation. The United States will also negotiate a bilateral agreement on peaceful nuclear cooperation with India and seek to assure the reliable supply of nuclear fuel to India through multiple avenues and instruments.

This initiative represents the culmination of many months of diplomacy on both sides and symbolizes the broader meaning of the President’s visit to India, which is the creation of a new strategic partnership. It also confirms U.S. confidence in India as a global partner and reflects our appreciation for India’s excellent nuclear nonproliferation record, its democratic traditions, and its commitment to tolerance and freedom.