The Canadian government unveiled a C$350 million ($280 million) deal to supply uranium fuel to India, formally ending a lengthy dispute that began after New Delhi used Canadian technology to develop a nuclear bomb. Canadian producer Cameco Corp will supply 7.1 million pounds (3.22 million kilos) of uranium concentrate to India over the next five years. The deal is Cameco's first with India, which the firm called the second fastest growing market for nuclear fuel.
"Canada is providing uranium to India as a mark of its trust and confidence in India," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a news conference during the official visit. Canada banned exports of uranium and nuclear hardware to India in the 1970s after New Delhi used Canadian technology to develop a nuclear bomb.
The two countries started to put the dispute behind them with a cooperation deal in 2013 that let Canadian firms export controlled nuclear materials and equipment subject to safeguards applied by the International Atomic Energy Agency. "(That agreement) really allowed us to turn the page on what had been in our judgment an unnecessarily frosty relationship for far too long," Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper told the news conference.
Modi has made nuclear power a key element of his clean energy strategy. India needs foreign nuclear technology and fuel to ramp up capacity by a planned 14 times from 4,560 megawatts over the next two decades.
The two prime ministers also said they wanted to boost bilateral trade, which currently sits at a modest C$6.3 billion a year, and revive stalled talks on a free trade agreement. "It (trade) is not where we want it to be but it is growing," said Harper. Modi arrived in Canada on April 14 for the first bilateral visit by an Indian prime minister in 42 years.
India, Canada to expand bilateral cooperation
In the joint statement released by Modi and Harper, the two leaders stated that they have agreed to take concrete measures to expand bilateral cooperation in key areas including the economy, trade and investment, civil nuclear cooperation, energy, education and skills development, agriculture, defence and security, science, technology, innovation and space, culture, people-to-people ties, and regional and global issues.
The two leaders also noted the historic significance of Modi's visit to Canada in advancing bilateral ties to a new level and agreed to elevate their bilateral relations to a strategic partnership. The joint statement further said that Prime Minister Modi has commended Prime Minister Harper for his leadership in renewing the momentum of the bilateral relationship through his visits to India in 2009 and 2012. This momentum was maintained by the Governor General of Canada's state visit to India in 2014.
The two leaders welcomed the continuing diversification, growth and deepening of bilateral relations in recent years, rooted in shared values of democracy, pluralism, tolerance, human rights and rule of law, and based on expanding economic engagement and long-standing people-to-people ties. They also agreed to hold regular discussions.
Earlier, Modi met Canadian Governor General David Johnston, before holding talks with Harper. He also attended a ceremonial reception before being accorded a guard of honour. Addressing the press, Modi later said that the agreement between the two countries on the procurement of uranium from Canada for India's civilian nuclear power plants launches a new era of bilateral cooperation.
10,000 throng Modi's 'rockstar' show
Modi's public interaction with the Indian diaspora at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto had all the trappings of a rockstar concert as Bollywood singer Sukhwinder Singh, Shiamak Davar troupe and other groups set the tone for the evening.
The nearly 10,000-strong audience interrupted Modi repeatedly during his hour-long speech with shouts of "Modi, Modi..." as Modi spoke about the changes sweeping India. Speaking in Hindi in the presence of Harper and his cabinet colleagues, Modi repeatedly stressed, "Sarkar naahi badli, jan manas badla hai dus mahine main (It is not that the government has changed, but it's people's thinking that has changed during the last 10 months)".
In the new atmosphere, Modi said, people were responding with enthusiasm to new ideas whether it was his Clean India Mission, or bank accounts for the poor or gas subsidy. Modi said celebrities joined the Clean India Mission on their own, poor people deposited Rs 140 billion in their newly opened accounts and rich people are giving up their gas subsidy so that the poor can be helped. "Modi has done nothing...it is the common man in India who has changed," the prime minister said.
There were rounds of cheers every time he took a dig at the previous regime. But Modi drew the biggest applause when he said his mission is "Skill India while theirs was Scam India".
