The United States has lifted export curbs on equipment for India's nuclear facilities and liberalized high-technology trade, just days before a meeting between leaders from the two countries, a government statement said Saturday. The two sides spent months working out how to implement an agreement reached in January to lift U.S. restrictions on India's space program, allowing technology transfers and cooperation between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization that were halted in the wake of New Delhi's 1998 nuclear tests. The details were worked out during talks between India's Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and senior U.S. State Department officials in Washington on Friday, the statement said. The agreement represents "major progress in the strategic partnership" between the United States and India, the statement said, adding that it would "lead to significant economic benefits for both countries and improve regional and global security." Saran described the agreement as "very important," and said the next round of talks between the countries would focus on nuclear power generation.
