New Delhi, August 02, SPA -- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh welcomedthe International Atomic Energy Agency's approval of an inspectionprotocol with the country, terming it as a "milestone" in India'squest towards gaining access to international nuclear trade,officials said Saturday. The IAEA Board of Governors on Friday approved the India-specificSafeguards Agreement with the consensus of all 35 board members, DPA reported. For India, the agreement was a pre-condition before the USCongress can ratify a US-India nuclear deal which gives India accessto civilian nuclear fuel and technology from abroad. Singh who is in Colombo to attend a South Asian Association forRegional Cooperation (SAARC) meet issued a statement on Friday nightthanking the US and UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohammed ElBaradei fortheir backing. "I am delighted to hear that the IAEA Board of Governors hasdecided, by consensus, to approve the India-specific SafeguardsAgreement," Singh, a prime-mover of the deal, said in the statement. "This is an important day for India, and for our civil nuclearinitiative for the resumption of India's cooperation with our friendsabroad," said Singh whose government faced a parliamentary trust voteafter communist parties quit his coalition in protest against thedeal. Maintaining that the civil nuclear initiative is "good for Indiaand good for the world," Singh said. "I am deeply appreciative of thehistoric significance of this milestone in our cooperation with theIAEA and the international community in peaceful uses of atomicenergy." He expressed gratitude to the IAEA Board of Governors, India's"partners and friends abroad and in particular to the US, for makingthis important step in the IAEA possible." Singh said as India moves forward towards the goal of sustainabledevelopment and energy security, peaceful uses of atomic energy willplay an increasingly important role. The Indian establishment now looks forward to "clean andunconditional" exemption from the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Groupwhich will meet on August 21 to consider changing guidelines to allowNew Delhi to have civil nuclear cooperation with the world. Both India and US have been aiming to get the required clearancesby the IAEA and NSG by August so that the agreement can finally beplaced before the US Congress in early September for ratification. The administration of outgoing US President George W Bush appearskeen to conclude the deal before the US presidential election is heldin November. "We will work closely with the government of India in the daysahead for rapid completion of the ratification process through IAEA,Nuclear Suppliers Group and US Congress," US envoy to India David CMulford said recently.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/578866