US Vows To Ease Civil Nuclear Trade With India

Outgoing NSA Jake Sullivan Monday said the US is in the process to remove Indian nuclear firms from a restricted list maintained by Washington and boost civil nuke cooperation

India-US Relations: In an effort to boost bilateral ties and wean New Delhi away from Moscow, Washington DC is likely to make it easier for India to access their sensitive nuclear technology. Once completed the move is going to be yet another milestone in taking US-India civil nuclear cooperation to a higher level, according to National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.

Sullivan is on a two-day visit to India in order to move forward the talks for the US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) which began under the outgoing Joe Biden administration.

“US is finalizing the necessary steps to remove long standing regulations that have prevented cooperation between India's leading nuclear entities and companies. Formal paperwork will be done soon but this will be the opportunity to turn the page on the frictions of the past, and create opportunities for entities that have been on the restrictive list of US. to come off the list and enter into deep cooperation with our private sector, scientists to move civil nuclear cooperation," Sullivan said in a public address during his two-day India visit.

Referring to the civil-nuclear deal signed between US and India under former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Ex-US President George Bush in 2007, the outgoing NSA said, “We have yet to fully realise it.”

“But as we work to build clean energy technologies to enable growth in artificial intelligence, and to help US and Indian energy companies unlock their innovation potential, the Biden administration has determined that it is past time to take the next major step in cementing this partnership.”

US is planning to remove state-run Indian entities like Indira Gandhi Atomic Research Center (IGCAR), Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC), nuclear reactors (including power plants) not under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards, (excluding Kundankulam 1 and 2) fuel reprocessing and enrichment facilities, heavy water production facilities and their collocated ammonia plants.

The US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security maintains the ‘Entity List’ under Export Administration Regulations. In 2019, Washington and Delhi signed an agreement to build six nuclear power plants in India.

Sullivan Meets Doval, Jaishankar On His Way Out

Sullivan Monday also met his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar just days before his exit from the White House. Sullivan and Doval jointly kickstarted the iCET talks between both countries in order for India to access sensitive defence and space technologies from the US.

“This is likely the last trip overseas that I will lead as NSA and I cannot think of a better way to end my tenure in the White House, visiting India on my final overseas trip to mark the advances that we have made together over the past four years,” said Sullivan.

He added, “This is a shared and historic achievement...I have every reason to believe that within the next decade, we will see American and Indian firms working together to build the next generation of semiconductor technologies, American and Indian astronauts conducting cutting-edge research and space exploration together.”

During his visit to the US last month, Jaishankar had met Sullivan and also the incoming NSA Michael Waltz.

Before leaving for the US, Sullivan called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who in a post on X said," It was a pleasure to meet the US National Security Advisor @JakeSullivan46. The India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership has scaled new heights, including in the areas of technology, defence, space, biotechnology and Artificial Intelligence. Look forward to building upon this momentum in ties between our two democracies for the benefit of our people and global good."