The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Vienna

The UN's atomic watchdog approved an inspections agreement Friday with India that is key to finalising a US-India nuclear cooperation deal that critics say undermines non-proliferation efforts.

The so-called safeguards agreement will subject Indian nuclear facilities to IAEA supervision and is a pre-condition to a deal under which the United States will supply New Delhi with civilian nuclear fuel and technology.

"I believe the agreement is good for India, and good for the world," IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei told journalists after the meeting. India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, reacting from Colombo, hailed what he called a "milestone" in India's cooperation with the international community in the peaceful use of atomic energy. The White House also reacted positively, spokesman Gordon Johndroe saying the move "will welcome India into the non-proliferation mainstream and assist India in meeting its growing energy needs in an environmentally friendly way."

The next step, he said, "will be to proceed to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) where we hope to move quickly on revising the guidelines that will enable civil nuclear cooperation with India before submitting the agreement for congressional approval later this year."

India still needs a waiver from the NSG -- 45 states exporting nuclear fuel and technology-and ratification by the US Congress before the deal can go through.

The rules of the NSG, which is expected to hold its next meeting on August 21 in Vienna, ban trade with states, like India, that have not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

But the chairman of India's Atomic Energy Commission, Anil Kakodkar, remained confident that New Delhi would get clearance.

"We are of course approaching all friendly countries but we do hope that the NSG will similarly grant a clean unconditional exemption for India," he told reporters in Vienna.

"(The deal) is certainly important for India but it's also important for the world at large because I think it meets the twin objectives of energy security as well as global climate change-related issues and concerns," he said.