Oslo, 6 September: The aim is to enable India to provide its growing population with a reliable energy supply.
“Today’s decision will help India to meet its energy needs and reduce poverty, and will also draw India into international efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons,” said Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
The decision came after India made an extensive political statement in which it pledged to uphold a number of non-proliferation commitments. Among other things, India undertakes to uphold a moratorium on nuclear test explosions and to open all of its civilian nuclear facilities to inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Norway played an active role in facilitating the NSG’s decision, contingent on a clear political statement by India, which will draw India more closely into international efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.
US official says time "very short" for Congress approval to India nuclear deal
Washington, 7 September: The time is "very short" for the approval of the Indo-US nuclear deal in the Congressional session beginning Monday [8 September], Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said while hailing the grant of the NSG [Nuclear Suppliers Group] waiver to India.
The first thing "is that we still have a little more to do on the determinations for the Hyde Act, and we will try to complete that...," Rice said in a roundtable with the travelling press in Algiers, the capital of Algeria.
"I have already talked before this NSG, several weeks before, to relevant committee chairs about trying to get it done, and I will have those conversations again, most likely on Monday or Tuesday, as well as trying to see whether the leadership believes that this can go forward."
Rice, however said, "...we understand that the time is very short. We knew that in the summer, when the Indians were able finally to move this forward in their domestic process. But I think we have demonstrated the commitment of the administration to this agreement, because we have worked this with the very, very strong help of partners through the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] and through the NSG in very rapid order."
"I don't think most people thought that we were going to be able to get this through the NSG this weekend," she said, according to a transcript released here.
Rice said she wanted to thank, especially, the German chair for the way they had worked on the matter and also took note of the "good cooperation" with Britain, France and Russia which were "very helpful".
"And I want to thank also the heads of delegations even who had difficulty: for instances, Norway. I talked several times with Foreign Minister (Jonas Gahr) Store, who had very strong views about the principles of the non-proliferation regime, but helped us find a way forward," she said.
"... it has been a good week for those negotiations. But we will just have to see whether it is still possible in Congress. In any case, we will have left a very good package, and I hope that it will be taken up (in the next Congress)," she said.