PMs boost Canada N-trade hope

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Negotiations Over But A Formal Deal Not Yet Inked
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: India and Canada on Tuesday concluded negotiations for the operationalisation of the civil nuclear deal signed in 2010 which is expected to ensure supply of uranium to India eventhoughtherewasnoformal signing of any agreement.
After a meeting with his counterpart Manmohan Singh, Canadian PM Stephen Harper welcomed the conclusion of negotiations on the Appropriate Arrangement and “looked forward to its early coming into effect”.
India and Canada have been negotiating administrative arrangements for supply of uranium under the pact signed in 2010 but it has taken time, with Canada insisting on a monitoring mechanism or a “reporting approach” for its uranium exports. The Indian side has tried to convincetheCanadiansbyiterating India’s commitments to IAEA safeguards and transparency measuresforuseof nuclearfuel.
The two countries will still havetosignanagreementwhich would see Canada resume nuclearsuppliesforthefirsttimeinalmost four decades since it stopped all such exchanges two years after India’s first nuclear test in 1974.
As Canada’s high commissionertoIndiaStewartBeckhad said on Monday, his country is concerned about where its uranium will go even though India hasinsisted that its reporting directly to IAEA should be sufficient.
“We also welcomed the recentprogressmadetowardsconcluding the modalities for the effective operationalization of the agreement on civil nuclear energy cooperation that we had signed in 2010,” Singh said after the meeting.
Double taxation relief pact signed
NewDelhi:IndiaandCanada signedasocialsecuritypacton Tuesdaytorelievetheirworkers fromdoubletaxation.Workerson short-termcontractsuptofive yearswillnotberequiredtomake anysocialsecuritycontributionin Canadaprovidedtheymake socialsecuritypaymentsinthe countryoftheirorigin.Itwas signedbyoverseasIndianaffairs ministerVayalarRaviand Canada’sEdwardFast. TNN