NEW YORK - In a bid to further strength its strategic partnership with India, a senior American official said Tuesday that the United States was ending restrictions of exports of high-technology goods to India. The US move came as Pakistan warned that growing international support for Indias nuclear programme would force Islamabad to bolster its deterrence and destabilise the region. In the opening session of the 2011 Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Pakistans ambassador Zamir Akram sharply criticised reported moves to bring India into NSG and other bodies that allow trade in nuclear materials, including for weapons. But in New York US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Robert Blake, who spoke about facilitating high-tech exports to India, said the United States would also support New Delhis full membership in four groups that control exports including the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). The US, he added, pledged to remove Indias space and defence entities from the Commerce Departments Entity List as India aligns its export controls with global standards. The Department of Commerce published a Federal Register notice (on Monday) to fulfil that commitment, Blake said, as US eyes trade with India shunned for a decade over its nuclear weapons programme. India has not met US demand to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The administration also said it would welcome India into clubs of nations that regulate export controls, bringing New Delhi full circle from an outcast to a member of international weapons controls. The United States took major groups off a blacklist, including the Indian Space Research Organisation, which leads Indias space programme, and the weapon-designing Defence Research and Development Organization. Previously, the United States barred exports to the organisations of material and technology that could have military use. These actions will open important new opportunities for our companies and governments on cooperating in the defence and space areas, he added.Talking about President Barack Obamas most successful trip to India in November, Blake said the big headline-maker was, of course, the Presidents endorsement of a reformed United Nations Security Council that includes India as a permanent member. The endorsement of an Indian seat on a reformed UN Security Council, as a permanent member, reflects our confidence that it is a country with which we will be working ever more closely to advance global security and prosperity, he said. During the trip, the Indian government positioned itself to take on a leading role in enhancing global stability by finalizing a $4.1 billion sale for ten C-17 Globemaster III heavy lift transport aircraft. Once all the aircraft have been delivered, ladies and gentlemen, India will have the second largest C-17 fleet in the world behind the United States a highly visible manifestation of the US -India defence partnership, he said. The purchase of six C-130J transport aircraft in 2008 will provide the Indian Air Force a strategic airlift and humanitarian response capability that is unique to the region and emblematic of Indias ambitions to play an increasingly global role, Blake said. In a statement, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said the steps taken by the US mar a significant milestone in reinforcing the U.S.-India strategic partnership and moving forward with export control reforms that will facilitate high-technology trade and cooperation.