India and Canada are keen to strengthen their economic ties and the forthcoming meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper in Toronto on June 27. The meeting between the two prime ministers ahead of the G-20 summit would be an important event in this connection, Canadian High Commissioner to India Joseph Caron said on Thursday.
Speaking of specifics, he said Canada could supply uranium to India under the Nuclear Co-operation Agreement owing to New Delhi?s rising energy needs. ??In combination with International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) and Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) this meeting will explore possibilities of cooperation in civil nuclear (also),?? he said.
Caron added that Canada was well placed to export uranium because of its large uranium assets. ??We see India?s energy needs and its commitment to nuclear energy as positive.?? In November 2009 the two countries had concluded negotiations on the nuclear co-operation agreement.
At present, both the countries are engaged in conducting a joint study group to explore the areas of mutual interests for concluding a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (Cepa). When the two leaders meet they are expected to release this study. Sensing the vast potential of opportunities that the two countries had, Caron said that trade and investment could leapfrog three times to $15 billion by 2015 from the current $5 billion.
Canada is the host country for the G-20 meeting. One of the contentious issues that is expected to be discussed during the G-20 meet is the possibility of imposing a flat global tax on all banks to cover the cost of any future financial rescues. However like India, even Canada is expected to strongly oppose any such move. ??Canada is against penalising its banking sector with such a tax, given that they didn’t receive any direct bailouts from the government during the crisis,?? he said.
Even protectionist tendencies by some of the developed western countries is on the agenda, apart from finding solutions to the WTO deadlock and ways to liberalise world trade.