Hailing the Congress approval to the Indo-US nuclear agreement as a "major victory" for the Bush Administration, the White House has said it is looking up to the private sector in both the countries to take lead in implementing the landmark pact.
"The approval of the 123 Agreement by Congress last night is a major victory for everyone involved and a significant achievement," Deputy White House Spokesman Tony Fratto said.
"The agreement embodies the trust and closeness that our two countries have developed over the past decade. Once the formalities of signing the legislation and signing the 123 Agreement are completed, the United States and India will be able to engage in full civil nuclear cooperation as trade envisioned in July 2005, when the agreement was announced," he said.
Highlighting the investment opportunities in India's civil nuclear sector, Fratto said United States encouraged private sector in both the countries to take advantage of the opportunities.
"We now look to the US and Indian private sectors to take the lead in implementing the agreement and beginning cooperation. The opportunities now available for US investment in India's civil nuclear sector are enormous, and we encourage our private sector to take advantage of every opportunity," Fratto said.
Terming the nuclear agreement as a new beginning in the Indo-US bilateral relations, he expressed confidence that both the country will abide by the commitments made in the 123 agreement.
"The achievement of bilateral civil nuclear cooperation is not a culmination but a beginning in US -- a new beginning in US-India relations," he said.
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"As we move forward, the United States will continue to abide by the commitments it has made to India throughout this process. We have every reason to believe that India will also abide by its commitments, there by providing a solid framework for cooperation," he added.
The senior White House official said that the Bush administration was very excited about the agreement and hoped for stronger ties with India along with civil nuclear cooperation.
"We must now build on this framework that we have achieved to continue the transformation of our relationship in all aspects. The civil nuclear initiative is one part of a broad, multifaceted partnership that includes cooperation in agriculture, education, trade, investment, defense, and democracy," Fratto said.
"Having completed the civil nuclear initiative, we now look forward to working with India even more closely than before to continue the evolution of our strategic partnership" he added.
He said that Secretary Rice was scheduled to travel India this weekend to commemorate the strengthen relations between the two countries during the Bush regime.
"We want to have and maintain strong relations with India. It's the world's largest democracy, and we hope that that relationship can grow," he said.