New Delhi, June 11 : The United States today said it was "closer" to signing an agreement with India which would give the right to American experts to conduct physical checks of defence equipment sold to this country to verify its use.
"We are closer" (to signing End-User Verification Agreement (EUVA) with India, visiting US Under Secretary of State William Burns told a press conference here.
The US has been pushing for EUVA since the Bush Administration days.
Under US laws, EUVA is mandatory for selling military hardware and the agreement would cover transfer of all sensitive defence equipment and military technology to India.
Burns said the proposed agreement was discussed during his meeting with Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and "good progress" was made during the talks on EUVA.
He said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would be visiting India in the second half of next month, which would provide an opportunity to "launch a new phase in the strategic relations" for which a "solid base" had already been laid.
He said the two countries together could do a lot, particularly in the areas of defence and intelligence sharing.
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