India and US have signed an agreement on reprocessing of American nuclear spent fuel by India, marking the final steps in the implementation of the landmark civil nuclear deal between the two countries. The agreement was signed in Washington by the US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Bill Burns and India's Ambassador to the United States Meera Shankar. The State Department said in a statement that the new arrangement, negotiated and concluded under President Obama, reflects the US Administration's strong commitment to building successfully on the US-India Civil Nuclear Cooperation Initiative. It said it is a prerequisite for US nuclear fuel suppliers to conduct business with India. The Indian Embassy described the signing of the agreement as a significant step highlighting the strong relationship and growing cooperation between the two countries. The agreement will enable reprocessing by India of US-obligated nuclear material under IAEA safeguards and will facilitate participation by US firms in India's rapidly expanding civil nuclear energy sector. The historic bilateral cooperation agreement for peaceful uses of nuclear energy, the 123 Agreement, that the two countries signed two years back provided for reprocessing of US obligated nuclear material in an Indian facility under IAEA safeguards. The United States had extended such reprocessing consent only to the European Union and Japan. India has already designated two sites for nuclear power plants to be established in cooperation with the US and the companies of the two countries are now engaged in discussions in this regard.