Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images] on Wednesday made a strong pitch for the India-United States nuclear agreement, saying it is crucial for ending the nuclear apartheid against India.

Maintaining that the deal will open up new possibilities of cooperation not only with the US but also with other nuclear powers like Russia and France, Singh said that without the agreement, trade in dual technologies could not become a reality.

"This nuclear agreement that we signed with the US has run into some difficulties, but it protects our national interest, it protects our capacity to use the nuclear power to protect our strategic interests," he said, while addressing probationers of the Indian Foreign Services at his residence.

"At the same time, it opens up new opportunities for civilian cooperation and without that, I think, the trade in dual technologies -- sensitive advanced technologies -- cannot become a reality," he said.

"Our domestic politics has prevented us from going ahead," Singh said "I still continue to hope that we will make progress in the months that lie ahead."

The Left parties, which extend crucial outside support to the government, have been strongly opposing implementation of the deal with the US, arguing that it would compromise the country's security interest and independent foreign policy.

Left parties have warned the government of serious consequences if it implemented the deal and the two sides are currently engaged in talks to end the deadlock.

"It is very important for us to move forward to end this nuclear apartheid that the world has sought to impose on India," the Prime Minister said in an apparent message to the Left allies.

Singh said that by entering into the nuclear deal with the US, his government has sought to give a new dimension to its relationship with Washington.

"It is for the first time twe got the US to appreciate that India is a nuclear weapon state, that India has the right to develop nuclear power to protect its strategic interests, and that it is a decision that must be made by the people of India and it is not subject to any international supervision or any international interference," he noted.

He said that despite India not being a signatory to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty and New Delhi's refusal to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, "there is no pressure from the US on India to sign NPT or any other international arrangement of that sort to enter into nuclear cooperation for civil energy."

"This agreement, if it materialises, if it sees the light of the day, will open up new possibilities of cooperation, not only with the US but all other nuclear powers like Russia [Images] and France [Images], who are very keen that once we have this deal through, that India should become eligible for civil nuclear cooperation," Singh said.

In his address, the Prime Minister dwelt in length on the country's engagement with the world as well as neighbouring countries, including China and Pakistan, which, he said, were of critical importance for India in realising its national ambitions.

"With our neighbours - particularly with neighbours like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka [Images] and Nepal - we have a vested interest in their stability, in their progress because if they do not progress many of their problems can become our problems," he said.

Referring to China, Singh said India has engaged with the powerful neighbour through Special Representatives to resolve the complicated border issues and 'find a pragmatic Pathway'.

"Some progress is being made, but I think there is a long arduous journey ahead of us," he said, adding that both the countries appreciated that border disputes should not be allowed to affect the pace of cooperation in bilateral areas.

On the growing menace of terrorism, the Prime Minister, without reference to any country, said, "There are still states which are sometimes actively backing the terrorist elements, and that there is a growing importance of the non-state actors in areas relating to terror."

Noting that this aspect gave a new dimension to India's national security, he said, "There is a growing fear that the security of nations can be threatened by nuclear weapons and sensitive technologies falling into the hands of terrorist elements".