Bush said in a joint statement with visiting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after talks here that he would "work to achieve full civil nuclear energy cooperation with India as it realizes its goals of promoting nuclear power and achieving energy security."

The United States had placed sanctions on India after its second round of nuclear tests in May 1998, but agreed after the September 11, 2001 attacks to waive those and other sanctions in return for support in the war on terrorism.

India is not a party to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. US law bars export of technology that could aid a nuclear program to any country that has not signed the treaty.

Bush said he would seek agreement from Congress to adjust US laws and policies and work with other countries "to adjust international regimes to enable full civil nuclear energy cooperation and trade with India."

This included "expeditious consideration of fuel supplies" to the US-built Tarapur nuclear power plant near Mumbai.

"In the meantime, the United States will encourage its partners to also consider this request expeditiously," the statement said.

The Tarapur reactor was constructed and remained operational under safeguards.

Bush, according to the statement, "conveyed his appreciation" to Singh over Indias strong commitment to preventing proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and said that "as a responsible state with advanced nuclear technology, India should acquire the same benefits and advantages as other such states."

Singh arrived in Washington Sunday on a four-day trip with all of the trappings of a state visit.

All rights reserved. © 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.