Saturday, September 16 2006 12:40 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: The US-India Business Council and the Coalition for Partnership with India have urged the US senate to approve the nuclear deal with India, as it will help create major trade opportunities for American companies.

"Congress has an opportunity to strengthen the growing partnership between the world's oldest and the world's largest democracies. As leaders in the US business, Indian-American, and policy communities, we urge you to support US-Indian civil nuclear cooperation," the two organisations said in a letter to each US senator.

The supportive advocacy letter sent in anticipation of the US Senate vote on the enabling legislation bears the names of five leading business associations, 28 leading US companies, nine Indian-American organisations, and 22 leading foreign-policy experts.

The US-India Business Council (USIBC) is the premier advocacy organisation representing the largest US companies investing in India, promoting economic reforms with an aim to deepen trade relations and broaden commercial ties with India.

The Coalition for Partnership with India is comprised of American businesses, academic institutions, associations, think tanks, and like-minded individuals supporting a deeper strategic partnership with India.

The letter is signed, among others, by former US secretary of defence William S. Cohen, three former US ambassadors to India, Frank G. Wisner, Thomas R. Pickering and Richard Celeste, and noted policy experts like Karl F. Inderfurth, Stephen P. Cohen, Selig S. Harrison, and John Ritch, director general, World Nuclear Association.

It also has the support of leading American companies like Aerospace Industries Association, Boeing Company, Ford Motor Company, Fremont Group, General Dynamics, General Electric, General Motors, Honeywell, IBM Corporation, Lockheed Martin and Westinghouse Electric Company.

For over 50 years, the US and India have sought to deepen their political, economic and strategic relationships, the letter said urging the senators to support "this historic legislation" expected to come up before the upper chamber later this month.

Although the draft bill before the Senate contains certain provisions of concern, the two organisations hoped that differences between the House and Senate bills will be resolved in a way that will promote US non-proliferation objectives while reinforcing the US-India strategic partnership.

This enabling legislation will clear a key hurdle to greater US-Indian relations, and will help create major trade opportunities for US companies, they said.

It would put in place the framework necessary for the US and India to broker a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement that will finally bring India's civilian nuclear programme under international safeguards, the letter added.

Under the agreement, which will be submitted to Congress at a later date for its review, India has agreed to implement permanent International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards for two-thirds of its present nuclear facilities and all future civilian nuclear facilities.

The legislation was approved in July by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with a bipartisan 16-2 vote. The House overwhelmingly approved its companion bill by a vote of 359-68.