India And Iaea Finalize Safeguards Agreement

摘要

India signed on to a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency last week, completing one of the necessary steps before civil nuclear cooperation with the United States can actually enter into force. The IAEA Board of Governors approved the agreement, termed an "umbrella agreement" because it allows India to bring other countries under the umbrella of safeguards in the future, in August, but it was just signed by the two parties Feb. 2. IAEA Girector General Mohamed ElBaradei and Ambassador Saurabh Kumar of India signed the agreement in Vienna, according to a statement from the agency. The United States required this new, India-specific safeguards agreement to complete its civil nuclear cooperation agreement, or ' 123 agreement,' with India.