India and Canada came to an agreement on Tuesday, to allow the exportation of Canadian uranium and other nuclear supplies for energy production in India. Almost four decades since India used Canadian nuclear technology to develop its first atomic bomb in 1974, the agreement finally came during an official visit by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper who hopes it will “play a greater role in meeting India’s growing energy needs.”
Two years ago both nations signed nuclear cooperation in Toronto for the exportation of uranium and reactors, but the two nations were unsuccessful in finalising how nuclear material should be tracked. Both now have agreed to establish joint panel to oversee the exports.
Singh and Harper said in a joint statement,
“Canada with its large and high quality reserves of uranium could become an important supplier to the Indian nuclear power programme.”
Currently India generates three percent of its energy from nuclear plants and hopes to increase that number to 25 percent by 2050.
Uranium exports has brought $1 billion in earnings a year to Canada and the Harper administration has been on the hunt to add more to the list, in July Canada signed an agreement with Beijing to export uranium.
