8216;Issues will have to be addressed before going to NSG8217;

8220;We still have a lot of work to do,8221; US Ambassador to the IAEA, Gregory L Schulte told a TV channel in Vienna on Friday, after the 35-member IAEA Board of Governors approved the safeguards agreement. It will be a key step towards the operationalisation of the Indo-US nuclear deal.

8220;There are issues that we will have to address,8221; he said. The US Ambassador said 25 of the IAEA board members came out in 8220;strong support8221; of the safeguards agreement and 8220;just a couple of8221; countries raised questions but in the end they joined the consensus too.

8220;We have to move forward to the NSG. We are going to keep this momentum up,8221; Schulte was quoted as saying. 8220;The countries acknowledge India8217;s requirements and legitimacy of India asking for access to nuclear energy and they seem to acknowledge that this is in their benefit.8221;

Overcoming some reservations from a few countries like Iran and Brazil, the IAEA Board of Governors adopted by consensus the agreement under which a total 14 of India8217;s 22 reactors, six of which are already subject to other agency safeguards agreements, are expected to come under agency supervision by 2014 8212; the first ones as early as 2009.

With this clearance, the next step in carrying forward the deal will be the vital NSG waiver for India to resume nuclear trade.