US and India sign nuclear deal

The United States and India today signed an accord that allows American businesses to sell nuclear fuel, technology and reactors to India.

The pact, reversing three decades of US policy, is a rare foreign affairs victory for President George Bush.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and India’s Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee signed the civilian nuclear cooperation agreement in the State Department’s ornate Benjamin Franklin Room.

The pact marks a major shift in US policy towards nuclear-armed India after decades of mutual wariness.

India has faced a nuclear trade ban since its first atomic test in 1974 and has refused to sign non-proliferation accords.