NEW DELHI: The United States is finalising the removal of longstanding regulations that have hindered civil nuclear cooperation between Indian nuclear entities and US companies, announced national security advisor Jake Sullivan during his visit to India. Sullivan described the move as a significant step in cementing the bilateral partnership, which he said was long overdue.
“Although former President Bush and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid out a vision of civil nuclear cooperation nearly 20 years ago, we have yet to fully realise it,” Sullivan said, adding that the Biden administration has determined it is “past time to take the next major step.” He confirmed that the necessary paperwork is being finalised, enabling Indian entities previously on restricted US lists to collaborate with American private sector players, scientists, and technologists.
“The United States is now finalizing the necessary steps to remove long standing regulations that have prevented civil nuclear cooperation between India’s leading nuclear entities and US companies,” he said while speaking at IIT Delhi.
Sullivan said that the decision reflects the progress made in the strategic partnership and India’s transparent engagement over the last four years.
“The formal paperwork will be done soon, but this will be an opportunity to turn the page on some of the frictions of the past and create opportunities for entities that have been on restricted lists in the United States to come off those lists and enter into deep collaboration with the United States, with our private sector, with our scientists and technologists to move civil nuclear cooperation forward together,” he said.
The announcement comes as Sullivan concludes his two-day visit to India, during which he held discussions with national security advisor Ajit Doval. Sullivan credited Doval for his role in advancing the US-India relationship, noting their “deep personal and professional relationship” developed over the past four years.
“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,” Sullivan said.
He predicted that within the next decade, joint initiatives could see American and Indian firms working together on advanced semiconductor technologies and conducting research in space exploration.
Sullivan’s agenda also included a visit to the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, where he met with entrepreneurs and discussed the US-India alliance on innovation under the iCET initiative. External affairs minister S Jaishankar also met Sullivan, acknowledging his “personal contribution” to strengthening bilateral ties.
Garcetti pays tribute to Jimmy Carter
During the event at IIT Delhi, US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, paid tribute to the late Jimmy Carter, former President of the United States, who passed away on December 29.
Garcetti said, “This week, we will mark the life of a great statesman who died at the age of 100 years. A great American President but also a great human being, Jimmy Carter.” He went on to highlight Carter’s pivotal role in US-India relations, saying, “He came here at a low point of Indian-American relations and sought to lay down a foundation or to reclaim perhaps the friendship that had defined the relationship between our people that had lasted for more than 200 years.”
