Rice visiting after atomic pact OKd

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice heads to India today just days after the U.S. Congress approved a landmark nuclear cooperation accord with the South Asian nation.

Rice is expected to meet with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other leaders over the weekend, the U.S. State Department said. She was also to travel to Kazakhstan.

Congress passed a pact this week that allows American businesses to begin selling nuclear fuel, technology and reactors to India, overturning a three-decade ban on atomic trade with the country, which is not a signatory of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The deal includes safeguards and requires U.N. inspections at India’s civilian, but not military, nuclear plants.