India and US have reached an agreement on the civilian nuclear cooperation pact, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said yesterday, after holding wide-ranging talks with visiting US president George Bush at Hyderabad House.

Addressing a joint press conference with US President George W Bush after their talks, Singh said the finalisation of identification of civilian facilities would begin now. Discussions would be held with the IAEA for India-specific safeguards on the civilian nuclear reactors, he said, adding the separation plan phase had been successfully completed. The momentous agreement will have ?a decisive and positive influence? on the international global order according to both leaders.

The Prime Minister said the US President had given an assurance that he would approach the US Congress for endorsing the deal.

This takes forward the pact signed by the two nations in July last year.

The two leaders spoke to the media after their round of talks yesterday morning, which followed all-night discussions between officials of the two countries.

The one-to-one talks between the two leaders began shortly after Bush reached Hyderabad House, the venue of the meeting, after his ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhawan and his visit to Raj Ghat, the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi.

War against terror

The two leaders shook hands and posed for photographs before going in for talks, being held amidst hopes on both sides of narrowing differences and clinching a deal for implementation of the landmark July 18 nuclear agreement.

The global fight against terrorism, Iran?s controversial nuclear programme and bilateral economic and trade issues are understood to have figured prominently during the one-on-one and the delegation level talks.

During the talks the presence of US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns were noted.

India and the United States should share intelligence on terrorists to weed out the scourge, President George Bush said. ?There is a need for intelligence agencies to share information and weed out terrorism?, he said at the joint press conference. The discussions with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh lasted over 100 minutes and covered a wide range of issues.

?I will bring the same message to Musharraf (to share information between the intelligence agencies) to fight terrorism,? Bush, who is visiting Pakistan on Saturday, said.

?My visit to Pakistan is very important as we (as nations) need to continue work together and combat terrorism,? he said.

Times of India

ANTI-BUSH DEMONSTRATIONS

Left protests against Bush visit outside Parliament

■ Left MPs staged a sit-in at the Parliament House yesterday to protest US President George W Bush?s visit to the country. Shouting anti-Bush and anti-America slogans, MPs from CPI (M), CPI, RSP and Forward Bloc sat on the steps of the main gate of Parliament, shortly ahead of the sitting of the two houses. Terming Bush ?the biggest enemy of humanity? and the ?biggest killer of the 21st century?, Hannan Mollah of CPI (M) said ?he (Bush) should have no place in India.? ?He should not be allowed to cometo the country and spread his tentacles on our soil?, he told reporters. ?After Afghanistan and Iraq, he is now creating a plotto attack Iran?, Mollah said, adding protests are taking place across the country against the US President?s visit. Left MPs had decided to stage the sit-in, saying his visit to the country amounted to an ?affront? to the Indian Parliament which had unanimously adopted a resolution against the American invasion of Iraq. They had also decided to move resolutions in both Houses of Parliament to suspend the Question Hour and discuss the issue as to why the government invited the American President when Parliament had protested against the Iraqi invasion