Thursday, March 2 2006 16:04 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The largest and the oldest democracies in the world, India and US today (March 2, 2006) agreed to continue further exploration in civil space, including space exploration, satellite navigation and earth science.

The two countries have committed to moving forward with agreements that would permit US satellites and satellites containing US components launched by Indian space launch vehicles, the Indo-US Joint Statement issued after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meeting with US President George W Bush said.

The agreement assumes significance as civil space cooperation is a significant aspect of the emerging high technology and strategic cooperation between the two nations.

India welcomed inclusion of US instruments in the Indian lunar mission Chandrayan - I saying that agreements to be inked between ISRO and NASA would be significant steps forward.

The statement mentions that efforts would be made towards opening up of new opportunities for commercial space cooperation between India and the United States.

The two countries have agreed to generate collaborative partnerships in science and technology to promote industrial research and development, it said adding "India and the US will co-fund to establish a Bi-National Science and Technology Commission that would help build knowledge partnerships."

India and US would work together to promote innovation, creativity and technological advancement by providing avibrant intellectual property rights regime. The two nations would also work together for capacity building activities, human resource development and public awareness programmes, it said.