Oliver Says Canada Seeking India Pact on Uranium Exports

Canada is working to finalize an agreement with India that will ease the export of uranium by companies such as Cameco Corp. (CCO), Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said.

The two countries signed a nuclear cooperation pact in June 2010 to enable Canada’s nuclear industry to sell materials and equipment for civilian purposes to India. Canada has asked India to ensure exports can be traced, in line with standards met by countries such as the U.S.

Canada and India are negotiating an “administrative” arrangement to address such issues, Oliver said today in a telephone interview from New Delhi.

“Our government is very keen on completing that arrangement and seeing it finalized,” Oliver said. “I’m hopeful that can in fact be done,” he said, adding that Canada has met its obligations under international non-proliferation treaties.

Oliver is visiting India to promote Canada’s natural resources, especially energy.

“The fundamentals are there,” he said. “We have the resources they need, and they need a lot of resources.”

Canada and India started negotiations on a free-trade agreement in November 2010. Trade between the countries rose to almost C$5.2 billion ($5.3 billion) last year.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have pledged to triple bilateral trade by 2015.

To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Mayeda in Ottawa at amayeda@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chris Wellisz at cwellisz@bloomberg.net