News

November 17, 2006

Press Release

Washington, DC - Former Defense Secretary William Cohen issued the following statement in support of the U.S. Senate's passage of the U.S.-India civilian nuclear agreement last evening. The U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of this agreement in July. The plan will allow for U.S. civilian nuclear trade with India in exchange for Indian safeguards and inspections at its 14 civilian nuclear plants

The U.S. Senate's overwhelming passage of the U.S.-India nuclear technology agreement last night is a significant achievement for the United States and India, and heralds a new era in U.S.-India relations.

I just returned from India, where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed to me his conviction that India and the United States are poised to make a giant leap forward in our bilateral relationship. India is a stable, secular, and pluralist democracy that shares our ideals and interests. Approval of this agreement will accelerate our relations.

This initiative will advance the U.S.-India relationship in multiple ways, and it will make the world safer. Consistent with India's solid commitment to non-proliferation, India has already taken steps to strengthen its export controls to meet international standards, as required by the agreement. The plan will boost defense cooperation between the United States and India, which is essential to meeting our mutual security objectives. Joint military exercises involving land and sea elements have recently re-started after an 18-month lull, and it is important that this momentum continue. Moreover, this agreement will usher in a whole new era of closer defense industrial cooperation and military interoperability opportunities. The plan will allow the United States and India to pursue closer intelligence sharing and mutual aid in law enforcement that is so vital in the fight against international terrorism. This will benefit the security of us all. The plan will reduce India's dependence on imported oil and gas and curtail greenhouse gas emissions by a minimum of 218 million tons of CO2, more than the ambitious Kyoto protocol. The agreement may also help to speed India's opening of several business sectors to American investment.

Last night's approval of this agreement by a wide margin is a prime example of what can be achieved when Congress deals with foreign policy questions in a spirit of bipartisanship. I hope the House and Senate can work this legislation through the conference committee quickly and send it to the President's desk before this session of Congress adjourns. Such an achievement is vital not only for the United States and India, but would help to close the 109th session of Congress, and begin the 110th, in a spirit of accomplishment and cooperation."

About The Cohen Group

The Cohen Group is comprised of 40 professionals who have many decades of combined experience working in top-level positions in Congress, the White House, the State Department, the Defense Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the Intelligence Community, other Federal agencies, and in European and Asian governments.

The Cohen Group provides its clients the insights and intelligence needed to better understand and shape the business, political, legal, regulatory, and media environments in which they operate.

This includes both developing strategic business plans to help clients achieve their objectives and actively participating with clients in the execution of those plans. The Cohen Group practice groups include China, Aerospace & Defense; Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical; Financial Services & Investment; Homeland Security; Information Technology; Property Development & Real Estate; Strategic Communications; Telecommunications; Trade & Agriculture; and Transportation & Logistics, serving clients in North America, East Asia, South Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Russia, Australia, Africa and Latin America.

The Cohen Group also has a strong strategic partnership with DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary, one of the largest and most dynamic law firms in the world, with 3,200 lawyers and 62 offices in 24 countries throughout the U.S., U.K., Continental Europe, the Middle East and Asia. It has leading practices in commercial, corporate and finance, human resources, litigation, real estate, regulatory and legislative, and technology, media and communications.

For more information, please visit www.cohengroup.net

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