Toronto, June 27 (IANS) India and Canada were set to sign a far-reaching nuclear deal, on the lines New Delhi has with the US, here later Sunday, completing a full circle in their wobbly relations since 1974.
The deal is expected to be signed soon after a bilateral meeting between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his host and Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper.
Manmohan Singh is the first prime minister in nearly a decade-and-a-half — after Inder Kumar Gujral — to visit Canada.
India and Canada were also expected to sign specific pacts on energy, culture and social security while holding talks on a host of bilateral, regional and multilateral issues, officials said.
The nuclear deal will mark a new chapter in India-Canada relations that suffered a setback after Ottawa imposed sanctions on India in the wake of its nuclear tests — first in 1974 and then again in 1998.
‘Canada and India are developing the tremendous potential of our relationship by rapidly expanding commercial, cultural and educational ties,’ Harper has said ahead of their meeting.
‘I look forward to working with Prime Minister Singh to further capitalize on our shared strengths,’ said the Canadian prime minister — a sentiment that was shared by Manmohan Singh as he left New Delhi for this city.
