India yesterday said it will seek international nuclear commerce but only after a landmark civilian atomic energy deal with Washington is cleared by the US Congress.

Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee's announcement came after nuclear supplier nations on the weekend lifted a decades-old ban on trading with India, saying it would fuel the country's economic growth.

"India will actually enter into trade with supplying countries through bilateral agreements (only) after the ratification (of the deal) by the US Congress," Mukherjee told reporters in New Delhi.

"As far as the procedure is concerned. now we shall have to wait for the ratification of the agree-ment," he added.

Ratification by Congress is the final hurdle before the deal, signed by US President George W. Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2005.

Mukherjee's comments came as US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice urged India not to ignore US firms should the deal hit a roadblock at the current Congress session, which concludes by the end of the month

"We have talked to the Indian government about not disadvantaging American companies and I think they recognise and appreciate American leadership on this issue," the Press Trust of India quoted Rice as saying during a trip toAlgeria.

Mukherjee also hailed the waiver both by the Nuclear Suppliers' Group and the

International Atomic Energy Agency as "passports for India to enter into international nuclear trade."

For global nuclear energy companies, the decision opens the door to an atomic reactor market worth tens of billions of dollars, with India aiming to boost its share of nuclear power to five to seven percent by 2030.

A host of nuclear companies from French state-controlled Areva, Russia's Rosatom Corp to General Electric of the US have been jockeying for a slice of India's atomic market.

Meanwhile, after working "tirelessly" for securing a waiver for India from the Nuclear Suppliers' Group for trade in the atomic energy, the US on Monday said its next aim is to make New Delhi a "full partner' in the nuclear cartel.