India and Canada on Monday inked a landmark agreement on uranium cooperation and decided to finalize a comprehensive economic partnership agreement soon, following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart, Mark Carney, news agency PTI reported.
Following the Modi-Carney bilateral talks at Hyderabad House in the national capital, the two sides inked several agreements, including one for cooperation in the critical minerals sector.
“In the civil nuclear energy sector, we have struck a landmark deal for long-term uranium supply. We will also work together on small modular reactors and advanced reactors,” he said.
1- Canada to supply Uranium
Under the agreement, Canada will supply Uranium to India. The two sides also Firmed up the terms of reference for the comprehensive economic partnership agreement.
“India and Canada hold an unwavering faith in democratic values. We celebrate diversity. The well-being of humanity is our shared vision. This very vision inspires us to move forward in every field,” Modi said.
2- Energy partnership
Carney said they had agreed on the launch of a “strategic energy partnership with significant potential” including a CAD$2.6 billion (US$1.9 billion) uranium supply agreement “supporting India’s nuclear ambitions”.
Carney added that Canada was “well positioned to contribute, as a reliable supplier” of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its west coast.
“As India seeks access to critical minerals for its manufacturing, its clean-tech, and its nuclear plants, Canada’s resource base and world-leading companies position it as a strategic partner,” he said.
3- Defense and maritime domain awareness
PM Modi said India and Canada will also work to enhance defense industries and maritime domain awareness. The two sides also discussed ways to boost cooperation in combating terrorism.
“We agree that terrorism, extremism and radicalization are shared and serious challenges not only for both countries but for all of humanity,” Modi said. “Our close cooperation against them is extremely important for global peace and stability,” he said.
4- $50 billion in bilateral trade
The two countries agreed last year to resume negotiations on the proposed free trade deal, the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. “Our target is to reach $50 billion in bilateral trade,” Modi said.
“This is why we have decided to finalize a comprehensive economic partnership soon,” he added, saying it “will open new opportunities to invest and create jobs in both countries.”
5- More India-Canada engagement
In his remarks, Carney hailed the “expansion” of ties with India, after meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
“There has been more engagement between the Canadian and Indian governments in the last year than there has been in more than two decades combined,” Carney said in New Delhiin a speech beside Modi.
“This is not merely the renewal of a relationship. It is the expansion of a valued partnership with new ambition, focus, and foresight, a partnership between two confident countries charting our own course for the future.”
Carney arrived in India on Friday for a visit he hoped would reset ties and double trade, offsetting the damage from his country’s fracturing relations with the United States. Carney’s visit is a key step forward in ties that effectively collapsed in 2023 after Ottawa accused New Delhi of orchestrating a deadly campaign against Sikh activists in Canada.
In the civil nuclear energy sector, we have struck a landmark deal for long-term uranium supply.
Before Carney took office last year, Ottawa accused Modi’s government of direct involvement in the 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a naturalized Canadian citizen who was part of a fringe group that advocated for an independent Sikh state called Khalistan. India had denied all these allegations.
