Describing the landmark Indo-US civilian nuclear deal as "good" for American security and economy, President George W Bush on Saturday said the agreement will help meet India's surging energy needs and restrain energy prices for American consumers.
The nuclear deal signed between Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on Thursday paves the way for lifting of the three-decades-old American restrictions on sharing civilian nuclear technology.
"The deal is good for American security because it will bring India's civilian nuclear programme into the international nonproliferation mainstream," Bush said in his weekly radio address.
Factoring in the economic angle, Bush said "the agreement also is good for the American economy. The agreement will help meet India's surging energy needs, and that will lessen India's growing demand for other energy supplies and help restrain energy prices for American consumers."
And as he did in New Delhi and Hyderabad, Bush highlighted the importance of trade with India, describing it as a rapidly expanding market for American products and noting that recently Air India had recently ordered 68 planes from Boeing and that American exports to India rose by 30 per cent last year.
"And all this trade is creating jobs and opportunity in America," Bush said, adding that in his talks with Singh, he made it clear that the trade between the two countries "must be free and fair."
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