Saturday, October 18, 2014

The Canadian Nuclear Horn (Daniel 7:7)

Canada and India reach a deal to supply uranium

canadian-nuclear
Scarborough Mirror
 

Canada and India signed a path-breaking nuclear deal this week, which will strengthen and solidify economic and trade prospects between the two countries.


Under the terms of the deal, Canada will supply uranium to India for Indian nuclear reactors as it aims to increase its capacity to generate more electricity in the coming decade. To make the deal happen, John Baird, Canada’s foreign minister was in New Delhi this week to sign the deal after a series of meetings with senior Indian members and his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj, India’s foreign minister.

In an interview given to India’s largest daily English newspaper, The Times of India, Baird said ” the agreement starts a new chapter in relations with India.”

Canada will also express support for India’s membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group even as the two countries plan to build on higher capacity nuclear reactors. India’s Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) calls for the upgrading of Indian nuclear reactors from their current capacity of 200MW to 750MW.

Both the countries will also come together in some joint efforts as well.

In late October, the two countries will co-host an upcoming nuclear security workshop in India with 15 countries participating in the summit.

This is a first for India as it organizes a meeting of this magnitude with another host country.

India is also going to tap into Canada’s skill development resources in the hydrocarbon and water management sectors.

Baird said Canada was excited to be a supplier of oil and gas to help India attain its development goals and Canadian companies with experience in green energy would help India tackle some of their environmental challenges.

In other news, Canada’s new high commissioner to India is Nadir Patel, the Indian born, but Canadian raised young 44-year-old diplomat.

Patel was born in Gujarat, India and his parents emigrated to Canada when he was a child.

Interestingly Patel comes from the same state as India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and speaks the same language – Gujarati – at home.

Patel went to Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo where he finished his under-graduate in political science in 1993. After graduating, he joined the Federal Public Service and rose in rank.

Up until three years ago Patel was Canada’s consul general in Shanghai. He was recently the assistant deputy minister for corporate planning, finance and information technology in Ottawa, as well as the and chief financial officer at foreign affairs, Trade and Development Canada.

Patel will be in India and his mission among other things is to increase trade between the two countries.

Currently, bilateral trade between the two countries is pegged at $6 billion, and is short of the $15 billion that was supposed to have been reached by 2015 pledged by the prime ministers of the two countries some years ago.

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