The United States and India have reached an agreement on reprocessing nuclear material, a key element of a landmark atomic energy pact, the State Department said Monday.
The agreement, under which India will be able to reprocess spent nuclear fuel from the United States, was one of the remaining hurdles to the full implementation of the 2008 agreement.
"Completion of these arrangements will facilitate participation by US firms in India's rapidly expanding civil nuclear energy sector," the State Department said in a statement.
In Delhi, the External Affairs Ministry released a statement saying, India and the United States have completed negotiations on “arrangements and procedures” for reprocessing U.S.-obligated spent nuclear fuel.
"Negotiations on these arrangements and procedures commenced in July 2009 and were concluded during the last round of negotiations held in New Delhi from March2 to 4", the statement said.
"These arrangements, negotiated pursuant to Article 6(iii) of the Agreement for Cooperation between the Government of India and the Government of the United States of America concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy, will enable Indian reprocessing of U.S.-obligated nuclear material under IAEA safeguards", the statement said.
