Washington: United States has been discussing with India and other countries cooperation on its national missile defence program, which seeks to defend its territory against a ballistic missile attack, a Bush administration official has said.

"The Governments with which we are either carrying out or discussing missile defence cooperation include Japan, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Australia, Canada, Israel, The Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Russia, Turkey, Spain, Poland, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Ukraine, Taiwan and India," Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control Stephen Rademaker said in Washington yesterday (Dec 17, 2004).

India and the United States had also conducted joint missile defence workshops, he said speaking at the American Foreign Policy Council's Conference on 'Missile Defenses and American Security'.

In January, President George W Bush and the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had announced the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP) initiative which included an "expanding discussion" on missile defence, Rademaker said.

The NSSP "includes a strategic stability dialogue with India, including an expanding discussion on missile defence," he said.

Rademaker said participation in the US missile defence program and the level of protection afforded to allies and friends by the missile defence systems will be determined as the systems evolve and as appropriate political, technical and financial arrangements are agreed.