India and Japan on Monday decided to accelerate negotiations on a civil nuclear deal to conclude it at an early date even as Tokyo removed six Indian space and defence—related entities from its end-user list.

Affirming the importance of civil nuclear cooperation between the two countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe welcomed the significant progress in negotiations on the Agreement for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy.

The two leaders directed their officials to further accelerate the negotiations with a view to concluding the agreement at an early date, and strengthen the two countries’ partnership in non—proliferation and nuclear safety, a joint statement issued after the bilateral talks here said.