US, India sign agreement on reprocessing of nuclear spent fuel

Washington, Jul 31 (PTI) India and US have signed an
agreement on reprocessing of American nuclear spent fuel by
India, marking the final steps in terms of implementation of
the landmark civil nuclear deal between the two countries.
Upon entry into force, the arrangements and procedures
will enable reprocessing by India of the US obligated nuclear
material at a new national reprocessing facility to be
established by India, dedicated to the reprocessing of
safeguarded nuclear material under International Atomic Energy
Agency safeguards.
The agreement in this regard was signed on Friday by US
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Bill Burns and
Indian Ambassador to the US Meera Shankar, at the Foggy Bottom
headquarters of the State Department.
"This arrangement, negotiated and concluded under
President Obama, reflects the Administration's strong
commitment to building successfully on the landmark US-India
Civil Nuclear Cooperation Initiative and is a prerequisite for
US nuclear fuel suppliers to conduct business with India," the
State Department said in a statement.
The Indian Embassy said signing of the Agreement is a
significant step which highlights the strong relationship and
growing cooperation between the two countries.
It enables reprocessing by India of US-obligated nuclear
material under IAEA safeguards and will facilitate
participation by US firms in India's rapidly expanding civil
nuclear energy sector, the statement said.
"With this we have taken another significant step forward
in the implementation of our bilateral agreement for
cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear energy," Shankar said
in her remarks on the occasion.
The hard and meticulous work done by the Indian and US
negotiators that led to the completion of negotiations, well
ahead of the stipulated period of one year, Shankar said
reflects how the two countries are increasingly getting into
the habit of working together.
The signing of this Agreement Saturday, and a few days
back, of the Counter-terrorism Cooperation initiative in New
Delhi, is a reflection of deepening ties between India and the
United States, Shankar said.
The historic bilateral cooperation agreement for peaceful
uses of nuclear energy, the 123 Agreement, that the two
countries signed two years back provided for reprocessing of
US obligated nuclear material in an Indian national facility
under IAEA safeguards, she said. (MORE) PTI LKJ
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