India, U.S. agree to nuclear pact

NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- India and the United States said on Thursday they had sealed a landmark civilian nuclear cooperation pact.

"We have concluded an historic agreement today on nuclear power," U.S. President George W. Bush told a joint news conference he held with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi.

In the short span of seven years, the nuclear issue -- once the single largest irritant in Indo-U.S. relations -- is now the centerpiece of what both countries describe as a ``strategic partnership.'

It will allow the United States to provide expertise and fuel to India's burgeoning nuclear industry. In return, India would open up its civilian nuclear projects to inspection by international inspectors.

The deal requires approval from the U.S. Congress, where skeptical lawmakers have complained it could undermine the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty by allowing India to bypass it.

The pact comes as Bush tries to reduce his country's dependence on fossil fuels, and as India's booming economy seeks more power to fuel its growth.

As Bush visited India on day two of this South Asia trip, police in Pakistan said blasts had killed at least four people outside the Marriott Hotel in the capital of Karachi. (Full story)

Bush is scheduled to go to Pakistan on Saturday. (See the Bush itinerary)

Bush arrived in the Indian capital on Wednesday after a surprise visit to Afghanistan, where thousands of U.S. troops are still engaged in hunting down the architects of the September 11 attacks. (Full story)

Earlier Thursday, Bush was welcomed at a ceremony at the president palace in the capital New Delhi.

Bush praised his hosts and then visited a memorial of India's independence leader, M.K. Gandhi, before beginning talks with Singh.

Despite the potential political fallout from the nuclear deal, there is a lot to gain for both sides from such a deal going ahead, one analyst said.

"The essence of this strategic partnership is to provide a countervailing influence to China ... to act as a restraint on the exercise of Chinese power," security analyst Brahma Chellaney told CNN.

Indians protest
U.S. National Security adviser Stephen Hadley described Bush's visit to India as a historic one in which a "broadening and deepening of the relationship between the United States and India" will be seen.

Before Bush arrived Wednesday evening, thousands of Indian demonstrators chanted anti-U.S. slogans, waved signs and burned U.S. flags to protest the visit.

During his visit, Bush is also seeking to try to soothe tensions between India and Pakistan, another nation with a nuclear capability.

Pakistan is a key U.S. ally in the war on terror, but many in Washington want to see Islamabad make stronger efforts to dismantle terrorist training camps.

Bush said he would talk to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf about reports of militants crossing the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

"These infiltrations are causing harm to friends, allies, and cause harm to U.S. troops," Bush told reporters in Afghanistan. "It's an ongoing topic of conversation."