Canada, India sign landmark nuclear deal

TORONTO: Canada and India signed a landmark nuclear deal on Sunday, ending a quarter of a century of mistrust after India used Canadian technology to build its first nuclear bomb.

The nuclear cooperation agreement will enable India to import Canadian nuclear equipment and technology and secure uranium, an abundant source of nuclear energy, to fuel the Asian nation's rapid economic growth, officials said.

Canada is the eighth nation to reach a civil nuclear deal with India since the Nuclear Suppliers' Group, a cartel which trades in nuclear fuel, equipment and technology, lifted a 34-year ban on India in 2008.

Aside from the United States, which spearheaded an international effort to bring back India to the nuclear trading club, New Delhi has atomic deals with such countries as France and Russia.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh witnessed the signing of the nuclear agreement on the sidelines of a summit of the Group of 20 developed and emerging nations.

The two leaders provided reassurances that there were adequate safeguards in the civilian deal. India used technology from one of reactors sold to it by Canada to develop a nuclear arms program in the early 1970s.

"There is absolutely no scope whatsoever of the nuclear materials or nuclear equipment in India being used for unintended purposes," Singh said.

"We did engage in extensive negotiations to deal with those issues and the Indian side was very forthcoming with the safeguards we require to have absolute confidence in those kinds of matters," Harper said.

Sources said earlier that the deal was driven by climate change concerns and that it provides the two countries an opportunity to sell heavy-water technology to third-party countries.