New Delhi - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President George W Bush have discussed the next steps to be taken towards the completion of a India-US civilian nuclear agreement, media reports said Friday.

The two leaders spoke by telephone on Thursday night in a conversation that also covered issues related to world trade talks, the Hindu newspaper reported.

Bush congratulated Singh on winning the confidence vote in parliament Tuesday and expressed the hope that the nuclear deal would be finalized soon, official sources told the newspaper.

There was, however, no statement from Singh's office in Delhi about the conversation.

Indian news outlets quoted from a statement issued by US National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe in Washington.

"Both leaders expressed their desire to see the US-India civil nuclear issue move forward as expeditiously as possible," Johndroe was quoted by the CNN-IBN network as saying.

Bush told Singh that he looked forward to strengthen the strategic relationship between the two nations, Johndroe said.

The nuclear energy agreement was endorsed by the Indian parliament on Tuesday when Singh's government was forced to face the trust vote after his communist partners withdrew parliamentary support in protest against the nuclear pact.

The deal would allow the US to export nuclear materials and technology to India, ending a three-decade ban while India would open its civilian reactors to international inspection.

India also hopes that the deal will pave the way for wider international nuclear cooperation, ending years of isolation following its nuclear tests in 1974 and 1998 and refusal to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

But before the deal with the US can be implemented, India has to reach a country-specific safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and get the Nuclear Suppliers Group to change its rules allowing trade with a non-signatory to the NPT. The 45-member NSG controls global trade in fissile materials.

While Indian officials expect a positive decision by the IAEA, they are counting on the US to do some intense lobbying at the NSG where the waiver has to be secured by consensus.

Both India and US hope to get the required clearances by the IAEA and the NSG in August so that the agreement can finally be placed before the US Congress in early September for ratification.

The Bush administration appears keen to conclude the deal before the US presidential election is held in November.

"We will work closely with the government of India in days ahead for rapid completion of the ratification process through IAEA, Nuclear Suppliers Group and US Congress," US envoy to India David C Mulford said recently. (dpa)