US, India talk up nuclear deal

Updated July 9, 2008 12:09:08

US President Bush and Indian Prime Minister Singh have talked about the importance of a bilateral nuclear agreement. [Reuters]

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, under fire at home over a planned US-India nuclear cooperation accord, has vowed to stand "shoulder to shoulder" with the United States.

"India and the United States must stand tall, stand shoulder-to-shoulder and that's what is going to happen," Dr Singh told US President George W. Bush in talks on the margins of a rich nations summit in Japan.

"We talked about the India-US nuclear deal, and how important that is for our respective countries," Mr Bush said, after a bloc of Indian left-wing parties quit Dr Singh's coalition government in protest over the atomic agreement.

The White House had hoped that the Prime Minister would signal he was prepared to submit the 2005 deal to Indian lawmakers for ratification.

It was not immediately clear whether Dr Singh had done so.

"I respect the prime minister a lot, and I also respect India a lot and I think it's very important that the United States continues to work with our friends to develop not only a new strategic relationship, but a relationship that addresses some of the world's problems," the US president said.

Dr Singh also painted a sunny picture of US-Indian ties, declaring "I am very pleased with the state of our relationship, which has truly acquired the characteristic of a genuine strategic partnership."

"Our relationship with the United States has never been in such good shape as it is today.

"It is the intention of my government, as I believe it is also the will of the Indian people... that in this increasingly interdependent world that we live in, whether it is the question of climate change (or) managing the global economy, India and the United States must stand tall, stand shoulder-to-shoulder and that's what is going to happen," he said.