Washington: Canadian firm Cameco Corp. signed a C$2.6 billion ($1.9 billion) uranium supply deal with India on Monday during Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first official visit to the country.
Cameco will supply 22 million pounds (11,000 tons) of the reactor fuel to India from 2027 through 2035, according to a statement from Carney’s office. The two nations also agreed to cooperate in sectors including liquefied natural gas, critical minerals, solar and hydrogen.
The agreement reflects a reset in bilateral ties, after relations soured following Ottawa’s allegations in 2023 that agents linked to the Indian government were involved in a campaign of violence against Canadian citizens, including the killing of a Sikh activist. The deal with Cameco also comes barely two months after India ended a state monopoly over atomic power generation and diluted controversial liability rules to attract private investors.
The liberalization is part of New Delhi’s efforts to raise its nuclear power capacity to 100 gigawatts by 2047, an 11-fold increase from now, creating a growing market for uranium that can’t be met by India’s domestic resources alone.
Nuclear cooperation between the two nations dates back to the 1950s, although New Delhi went into decades of nuclear isolation following its first nuclear test in 1974. A deal with the US in 2008 helped the South Asian nation regain access to global reactor fuel and technology. India and Canada had previously signed a nuclear cooperation agreement in 2010, which paved the way for a uranium supply deal with Cameco, based in Saskatchewan, in 2015 that’s now expired.
New Delhi currently has an ongoing uranium import contract with Uzbekistan, Atomic Energy minister Jitendra Singh told lawmakers in March last year. India’s 8.8 gigawatts of nuclear power accounts for less than 2% of its total capacity.
Canada and India will conclude a new Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement this year to advance Ottawa’s goal of doubling two-way trade with India by 2030, Carney’s office said in the statement.
The two nations also agreed to expand cooperation in space and signed an initial pact to collaborate on development and deployment of artificial intelligence under the Australia-Canada-India Technology and Innovation Partnership, Carney’s office said. Indian software major HCL Technologies Ltd. will expand its operations in the North American nation, potentially increasing its workforce there by 75% by 2030.
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