US, India sign science, technology pact (AFP) Updated: 2005-10-18 14:03
The United States and India have signed an umbrella science and technology
agreement to boost cooperation in areas ranging from health to space technology.
The pact, signed by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and India's
minister of state for science and technology Kapil Sibal, notably nailed down
intellectual property rights issues that had snagged negotiations since 1993.
It is aimed at expanding collaboration in basic sciences, space, energy,
nanotechnology, health and information technology, according to a fact sheet
distributed by the State Department.
The agreement, officials said on Tuesday, would also complement the
activities of the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum, established in 2000.
Rice called the pact "another dramatic illustration of the fast-growing
bilateral relationship we are building between the United States and India."
Sibal said, "This is indeed a very historic occasion. It is indeed a
milestone 15 long years after negotiations."
Relations between the two countries have blossomed in recent years, climaxing
with an accord signed by President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh in July, in which Washington agreed to lift a ban on civilian nuclear
technology sales to nuclear armed India.
The United States had placed sanctions on India after its second round of
nuclear tests in May 1998, but agreed after the September 11, 2001 attacks to
waive those and other sanctions in return for support in the war on
terrorism.
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