New Delhi: India and the US today (Oct 21, 2004) made "substantial progress" on the implementation of Phase I of the 'Next Steps in Strategic Partnership' (NSSP) for facilitating high-technology trade and agreed to meet again shortly.

Visiting US Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca discussed various aspects of the NSSP with her Indian interlocutor S Jaishankar, Joint Secretary in the External Affairs Ministry. This is also the first meeting of the implementation group of Phase I of NSSP.

After wide-ranging discussions including on second Phase of NSSP launched by the two countries at the beginning of this year, External Affairs Ministry (MEA) in a brief statement in New Delhi said, "substantial progress" has been made on the implementation of Phase I.

Rocca had yesterday (Oct 20) met Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and senior MEA officials.

Officials here said this group has a "broader scope and application" while considering steps for implementing the "understandings" of NSSP-1.

The two sides had concluded the first phase of the NSSP last month before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's meeting with President George W Bush in New York, under which ISRO was removed from a restrictive list.

The US is expected to soon post a Commerce Department official in New Delhi on a "permanent basis" to help coordinate high technology trade and ensure that technologies transferred to India are used in the manner they are licensed for.

The official will help US Companies understand the opportunities in high technology sector in India and also help Indian Companies understand US export control systems and requirements.

Periodic end-use checks on a spot basis would be carried out to ensure that technology and hardware goes where it should be used for.