US, India To Sign Science, Technology Pact

Agence France-Presse (France) 13oct2005

Washington — US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to sign a pact with India next week facilitating collaboration between American and Indian scientists in areas ranging from health to space technology.

The "Science and Technology Umbrella Agreement" is scheduled for signing with India's minister of state for science and technology Kapil Sibal at the State Department on Monday, the Indian embassy said in a statement.

"This new agreement is expected to accelerate cooperation between Indian and US scientists working in government agencies, private sector and academia," it said.

The areas for collaboration covered basic sciences, space, energy, nanotechnology, health and information technology, it said.

The agreement, the embassy said, would also complement the activities of the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum, established in 2000.

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 sale 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.

All rights reserved. © 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of .