'India, UK to sign nuke deal within a week'

India and the United Kingdom have agreed on the text of a landmark civil nuclear agreement and a formal pact may be signed within a week, Britain's Business Secretary Lord Peter Mandelson announced on Thursday.

"The civil nuclear deal text has been agreed to and it will be signed soon, may be within a week after ministerial approvals," Lord Mandelson told a joint press conference with Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, after the hour-long meeting of the Joint Economic and Trade Committee at the Lancaster House.

Lord Mandelson said, "We have identified one or two areas where great collaboration can take place and defence is one such area."

"India wants collaboration in defence manufacture and supply and we have our own units which are keen to collaborate with India. This is an area where business-to-business collaboration between the two countries can take place."

India and the UK enjoy a strategic relationship in a range of areas including science, defence, agriculture and security- related issues, Sharma said.

"The civilian nuclear cooperation agreement will be signed soon," he said.