Obama transmits to Congress 1st nuke report

 As the US reaffirmed its commitment to complete all steps of the civil nuclear deal with India, President Barack Obama transmitted to the Congress his first report on the landmark accord but the contents were not made public.

The White House while referring to Obama’s action also said the Indo-US nuke deal sealed during the previous Bush administration opened up new pathways for partnership between the two countries on non-proliferation issues globally.

“Civil nuclear cooperation with India has opened new pathways for a strengthened US-India partnership on non-proliferation issues globally,” said National Security Council spokesman Benjamin Chang.

Benjamin said Obama on Tuesday transmitted to the US Congress his first report on the Indo-US civil nuclear deal. This is the first report issued by Obama since the entry into force of the 123 Agreement in December last year.

“The report covers the period of October 4, 2008, to June 30, 2009. It provides an update on US-India civil nuclear cooperation and developments that relate to India’s nuclear-related activities,” Obama wrote to the chairman and ranking members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. However, the contents of the report were not made public, as Obama wrote to them: “Classified information associated with these issues has been provided in a separate classified annex.”

After talks with External Affairs Minister S M Krishna in New Delhi on Monday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton affirmed the Obama administration’s commitment to completing all the remaining elements of the civil nuclear deal.