Monterrey (Mexico): US President George W Bush has announced that the United States and India would deepen cooperation on civilian nuclear activities, civilian space programmes and high-technology trade.

In a statement released on the margins of the Summit of the Americas in Monterrey yesterday (Jan 12, 2004), Bush said he and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had also agreed "to expand our dialogue on missile defence".

"Cooperation in these areas will deepen the ties of commerce and friendship between our two nations, and will increase stability in Asia and beyond," the President said.

The two nations will take "a series of reciprocal steps", including expanded engagement on nuclear regulatory and safety issues, missile defence, and seek ways to enhance cooperation in peaceful uses of space technology, said Bush.

On the high-technology trade front, the two sides will tighten restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

Bush called the expanded cooperation "an important milestone in transforming the relationship between the United States and India. That relationship is based increasingly on common values and common interests."

"We are working together to promote global peace and prosperity," he said. "We are partners in the war on terrorism and we are partners in controlling the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them."