Canada to sell uranium to India in breakthrough deal

Ottawa: Canada’s prime minister announced a breakthrough deal on Wednesday to supply uranium to India, putting behind decades of discord over India’s use of Canadian technologies to build nuclear bombs.

The supply agreement was signed in Ottawa during a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi — the first Indian leader to visit Canada in 42 years.

Few details of the 350 million Canadian dollars (Dh1 billion) deal were immediately available, except that it would cover five years.

The uranium is to be sourced from the northern Saskatchewan mines of Cameco, the world’s third-largest uranium producer, accountable for 14 per cent of world production. It currently exports about Can$1 billion worth of uranium annually.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said a nuclear cooperation agreement concluded in 2012 laid the groundwork for the two Commonwealth nations “to turn the page on what had been in our judgement an unnecessarily frosty relationship for too along.”

The pact allows Canadian companies to export nuclear materials for peaceful uses, in accordance with Canada’s nuclear non-proliferation policy.

Modi told a joint press conference with Harper the uranium procurement deal marks “a new era of bilateral cooperation (and) ... trust and confidence in India.”

“This gives the energy to our relations,” he said.

The two leaders also pledged a renewed push to get stalled free trade talks back on track.

Bilateral trade is small — only Can$6.3 billion in 2014, according to Canadian government figures.

“Both Mr Modi and I believe it could be worth much more,” Harper said. “Canada has what India needs and vice versa.”

However, “there are many issues to be resolved,” he added.

Modi’s visit to Canada comes after stops in France and Germany. He is seeking to attract investors as he tries to rewrite India’s reputation as a tricky place to do business, beset by bureaucracy, corruption and a stringent tax regime.

In Canada, Modi is expected to make stops in Toronto, where he is scheduled to give a keynote speech at a rock starlike event, and in Vancouver.

Nearly 1.2 million Canadians trace their roots to India. South Asians are the largest visible minority in Canada.