Setting aside Pakistan's concerns "about US-India nuclear deal, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors on Friday adopted inspection plan of Indian nuclear installations unanimously. The 'Safeguard Agreement' has paved way for landmark US-India nuclear deal.
After the agreement, IAEA experts will be able to visit all Indian nuclear installations and 22 existing reactors by 2014. In his opening statement, IAEA Chief Mohammad ElBaradei said the agreement was comprehensive and full in scope. "It satisfies India while maintaining all the agency's requirements," he added.
To implement the US-India deal, India has to strike separate agreements with IAEA and Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG), which consists of 45 members who supply nuclear fuel and technology to other countries.
Pakistan has been vocal in its opposition to the deal. The nuclear-armed countries have fought three wars since independence in 1947.
In a letter to members of the IAEA board and the NSG, Islamabad warned that the agreement "threatens to increase the chances of nuclear arms race in the subcontinent". The deal is considered one of President Bush's top foreign policy initiatives, and the administration is eager to tie up loose ends before leaving office. Some analysts argue the US-India deal re-enforces the perception of double standards regarding the nuclear non-proliferation regime.
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