South Korea and India signed a nuclear energy cooperation agreement Monday after a year of negotiations, paving the way for Seoul to export atomic power plants to the fast-developing nation. The pact, signed after summit talks between President Lee Myung-bak and India's President Pratibha Patil, is a requirement and provides legal ground for South Korea's participation in India's atomic power plant construction project, Yonhap news agency reported. India now has 20 power-generating nuclear reactors in operation, six under construction and plans to build about 40 more by 2032. Russia, France and the U.S. have been active in India's nuclear power plant construction projects.