Thursday, November 3 2005 10:50 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: Observing that the landmark nuclear agreement with India underscores the democracy's arrival as a 'force in the world', top US officials have defended the pact, saying 'the time is right' for such an accord and New Delhi could be trusted in the future with sensitive nuclear technology.

Appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday, US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, urged lawmakers to support cooperation in the realm of civilian nuclear cooperation with India, which he said was indeed in American interests.

Burns and Robert Joseph, Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, rallied behind the July 18 nuclear agreement reached between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President George W Bush.

"We weighed the pros and cons and decided that it was in the American interest to bring India into compliance with the standards and practices of the international proliferation regime. And we decided that the only way to reach that goal was to end India's isolation and begin to engage it," Burns said.

"We believe the resulting agreement advances our strategic partnership and is a net gain for non-proliferation. We do not plan to offer such cooperation to any other country." He said the pact emphasises 'democratic India's arrival as a force in the world' and the 'time is right' for such an accord and assured lawmakers that New Delhi could be relied upon in the future with sensitive nuclear technology.