As the United States Congress passed the Indo-US nuclear deal to President George W Bush's table, the reactions from the world's media were on expected lines.
The US media returned a mixed verdict, the Pakistani media highlighted the negatives, and the Chinese media, as usual, was guarded and cautious.
The media in energy rich United Arab Emirates even dubbed India as having reached the top of the energy table.
'The economic incentives for the United States are huge,' the New York Times analysed.
'As India gradually opens its vast market, American companies stand to make a great many gains, from investments in Indian real estate to selling soybean oil and fighter planes, the piece said. 'There is also New Delhi's growing strategic value in a rapidly changing Asia,' it added.
Dubbing India as an erstwhile adversary, the Chicago Tribune said the deal was an outgoing present that the Congress had given President George W Bush, who it said had earlier blundered a lot in the foreign policy front.
Talking about the deal and a trade deal with Vietnam, the Tribune said, 'The US effectively is bolstering the economies of two fast-growing Asian economies that serve as political counterweights to the dominance of the booming economy -- and military aspirations -- of China.'
The Washington Post said the deal was a victory for President Bush on 'a top initiative and has set up a major shift in US policy'.
'It reverses three decades of American anti-proliferation policy and, supporters say, deepens ties with a democratic Asian power that has long maintained what the Bush administration considers a responsible nuclear program,' the Post said.
The Los Angeles Times also said the deal was a major policy shift.
While the supporters of the deal have been saying that the deal had crossed all major hurdles with its passage in the Congress, the LA Times report drew attention to two more hurdles. 'The deal now faces at least two additional hurdles. A treaty putting the provisions into effect will require Senate ratification, and the Nuclear Suppliers Group, 45 nations that control exports of nuclear materials, also must approve the pact,' it said.
Pakistan's leading national daily, The Dawn, said India did not get all it wanted. In a report that entirely focused on the negatives, the paper said, 'India was particularly upset about a provision urging the US president to lobby against nuclear fuel supplies to India if Washington terminates nuclear cooperation with New Delhi.'
China's state-run People's Daily did not go beyond the facts. It merely said that Bush was satisfied with the deal and quoted the New York Times: 'The passage handed the White House a major victory at a time when the Bush administration's foreign policy is under fire on multiple fronts, and it was another signaling for concrete steps to counter China's growing influence in Asia.'
By far the most interesting report came from energy rich UAE. In a report headlined 'India on way to energy top table' the Gulf News said, 'The deal is seen as a major move towards becoming a regional power.'
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