The US is finalising necessary steps to remove long-standing regulations that have prevented civil nuclear cooperation between leading Indian and American companies, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on ﷽Monday.
The significant announcement by the top official of the outgoing Biden administration came hours after he held separate talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and NSA Ajit🍨 Doval.
India and the US unv▨eiled an ambitious plan to cooperate in civil nuclear energy in July 2005 following then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's meeting with American President George W Bush.
The India-US civil nuclear agreement was finall♛y seale🏅d in 2008.
Though the transformative deal changed overall engagement between the two sides by paving the way for building the bonds of a strategic partnership, there was no tangible proꦡgress in the civil nucle🌠ar energy sector.
"Although former President Bush and former Prime Minister Singh laid out a vision of civil nuclear cooperation nearly 🅰20 years ago, we have yet to fully realise it," Sullivan said in an address at the IIT-Delhi.
He said the Biden administration has determined that it is time to take the next major step in "cem🐷enting" this partnership.
"So today I can announce that the United States is now finalising the necessary steps to remove long-standing regulations that hav﷽e prevented civil nuclear cooperation between India's leading nuclear entities and US companies," Sullivan said.
"The formal paperwork will be done s🥃oon, but this will be an opportunity to turn the page on some of the frictions of the past and create opportunities for entities that 🦹have been on restricted lists in the US to come off those lists and enter into deep cooperation with the US," he said.
Sullivan described the move by the US as a "statement of confidence" in the progress the two countries have ♏made and the progress the🎃 two nations will continue to make as strategic partners and as "countries who share a commitment to peaceful nuclear cooperation".
The US NSA said India and the US were able to open a "new chapter" in their partnership under Joe Biden's presidency in the last four years but at the same time note൩d that t﷽he sides had to navigate turbulence, legacy issues including tensions over trade and human rights.
"But we've navigated these issues together with 🍸our eye on the long game and our abil𝓰ity to do so reflects the deep and enduring resilience between the US and India across generations, across administrations and yes, across the aisle," he said.
Sullivan also announced that India-US commercial and civil space partnership is set to "lift off" with President Bide🌟n signing certain papers.
This move, he said, will help bolster🍸 cooperation in areas of🃏 missile technology.
In the address, Sullivan also slammed China for its "predatory indu൲strial strategies" in certain critical sectors including in chip manufacturing, clean energy and other emerging technologies.
The US companꦡies looking for more resilience in both their markets and their supply chains are shifting out of China and expandi🌠ng into India.
"Take, for example, Apple's significant investment in Indian production. Within the next couple of years, over 1/4 of all iPhones in the world wꦏill be made right here in India," he said.
While talking about supply chains, Sullivan said the US, India and other key democratic nations have all been reminded "abruptly and sharply" that "we cannot ignore thꦯe ways in which interdependencies can be weaponized against ⛎us", remarks seen as directed at China.
"🅺We've seen countries lose access to critical minerals that support our clean energy, we've seen♌ companies struggling to compete against China's predatory industrial strategies in chips and clean energy and other emerging technologies," he said.
"We've seen repeated attacks on industries tied to our structure which is heightening the risks not only🌳 to cyber espionage but of😼 destructive sabotage," the US NSA said.
That's why, he said, Indi🍌a and the US are investing in natio🅷nal programs and sectors that have become "overly reliant on a single country".
In his 💯address, Sulliva✃n also said that India-US collaboration is crucial for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.
The US and India are eventually helping countries across the Indo Pacific region in upgrading their def𒁏ensive capabilities as well.
"Because that is a critical goal that unites us to ensure a more free, more secure, more prosperous and more resilient Indo Pacific region. And in fact, thℱe stronger defence cooperation between the US and India is already enabling greater security across the region," he said.
The U𓄧S NSA also said that US-India relations have fundamentally💞 reached a new level of cooperation in the last four years.
"We are deepl♒y invested in our relationsh🍒ip with India," he said.
