Senior officials of the United States and India will exchange visits in May to speed up negotiations over the final agreement that gives India access to civil nuclear technology, the Washington Post reported Friday.

Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shanker Menon will visit Washington from May 1 for the negotiations, while U.S. undersecretary of State R. Nicholas Burns will visit India later in the month to try to wrap up the agreement.

"There is a strong sense of frustration in Washington, in the (Bush) administration and in Congress, about the fact that the Indian side has progressed so slowly in this effort. We urge it to accelerate its efforts," Burns was quoted as saying.

"The bottom line is that we are committed to this deal. We do not question the goodwill of the Indian government, and I believe we'll overcome the problems we are encountering," Burns said.

U.S. President George W. Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reached an agreement to give India access to civil nuclear technology in July 2005. They also agreed to an implementation plan in March 2006.

Currently, the two sides are negotiating the language to comply with a congressional bill passed in 2006 that would permit changes in U.S. law to allow nuclear sales, even though India never signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Many American nuclear experts condemned the agreement as weakening efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, but the Bush administration billed the deal as necessary to build close relations with India.

The agreement also stirred controversy in India. Some Indian officials and nuclear experts are reluctant to have India scrutinized by International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors.

U.S. officials said India has made unrealistic demands, such as retaining the right to test nuclear weapons.

For now, the deal faces other hurdles including approval by an international consortium that controls nuclear exports, India's reaching a separate agreement with U.N. inspectors, and a final vote in U.S. Congress.