Thursday, July 6 2006 18:51 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Officials of India and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will meet here next week to negotiate the proposed Safeguards Agreement which is required to be put in place to allow international community to resume nuclear trade with New Delhi.

A team of IAEA officials will arrive here on Saturday and the two sides will hold two-day talks beginning Monday, official sources told sources here today.

The Indian side will include officials from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).

Officials of the MEA and DAE held discussions here today to give final touches to India's position with regard to the issue, the sources said.

Under the Indo-US civil nuclear deal signed in March during the visit of President George W Bush here, New Delhi and the IAEA have to work out an 'India-specific Safeguards Agreement' for supervision of civilian nuclear facilities of this country.

In the civil nuclear agreement, India has identified 14 of its 22 atomic reactors as civilian which will be covered under the IAEA safeguards agreement.

India is expected to seek an early conclusion of the agreement with IAEA in view of the US Congress' desire to see progress on it before the American Parliament approves change of law to allow nuclear trade with New Delhi.

International Committees of both US House of Representatives and Senate recently approved two bills providing for change of law that will end India's nuclear apartheid.