New Delhi: US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns has stressed the need for "levelling the playing field" for foreign and domestic companies in the country's civil nuclear industry.
During his visit, Burns held wide-ranging talks with
Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai yesterday and also stressed
the importance of continuing the implementation of the
US-India civil-nuclear deal during his talks.
"The Deputy Secretary stressed, in particular, the
importance of continuing the implementation of the US-India
civil-nuclear deal and levelling the playing field for foreign
and domestic companies wishing to compete in India's civil-
nuclear market," a US Embassy statement said.
With Mathai and External Affairs Minister S M Krishna,
Burns reviewed developments in South Asia, the Middle East,
and the Asia-Pacific region.
The statement said the two sides welcomed the growth in
bilateral trade and expressed their support for continued
efforts to deepen defence and economic cooperation, which
remain essential to the strategic partnership.
Krishna told Burns that he looked forward to visiting
Washington for the next round of the US-India Strategic
Dialogue in 2012.
Burns had yesterday said India shared its commitment to
the "full implementation" of the Nuclear Agreement as both
countries discussed ways to iron out differences on the
nuclear liability law.
Implementation of the civil nuclear agreement, signed in
2008 by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and then President
George W Bush, has been a matter of contention, particularly
due to American reservations on India's nuclear liability law.
The US contends that the legislation is not in tune with
the IAEA's Convention on Supplementary Compensation thus
making it difficult for US companies to start nuclear
commerce with India.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, December 13, 2011, 19:56