Uranium deal important part of India-Canada bilateral ties, says MEA

The MEA said it is reviewing Dhaka's extradition request for Sheikh Hasina, stressing its commitment to Bangladesh's people

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Wednesday confirmed that India and Canada are negotiating a uranium deal, stating that it was an important part of bilateral ties and would further strengthen the civil nuclear cooperation between the two nations.

 

During the MEA’s weekly press briefing, spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the uranium deal is an ongoing conversation between the two countries, and was discussed during the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney in Johannesburg.

 

“It is an important part of the India-Canada bilateral cooperation, and how we can further strengthen the civil nuclear cooperation between the two countries,” he said.

 

According to a report by Canada’s Globe and Mail on Monday, Canada and India are close to finalising an export agreement in a deal valued at about $2.8 billion. The report said that the deal for Canada to ship uranium to India would run for 10 years, if finalised. It said that uranium would be supplied by Canada's Cameco Corp.

 

The MEA spokesperson confirmed that the India-Russia Annual Summit will take place in New Delhi in December. According to reports from Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin could travel to India in the first week of December. However, Jaiswal said that specific dates will be conveyed later. He said both sides have been “working hard” to strengthen ties and discussing several issues that will form part of the visit’s outcomes.

 

India on Sheikh Hasina’s extradition

 

India on Wednesday said it is examining a request by Bangladesh to extradite former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and that it is committed to ensure the best interests of the people of that country.

 

Hasina, 78, was last week sentenced to death in absentia by a special tribunal in Dhaka for "crimes against humanity" over her government's brutal crackdown on student-led protests last year.

 

The Awami League leader has been living in India since she fled Bangladesh on August 5 last year in the face of massive protests. “The request is being examined as part of ongoing judicial and internal legal processes,” Jaiswal said.

 

“We remain committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in that country and will continue to engage constructively in this regard with all stakeholders,” he said.

 

In Dhaka, according to a PTI report, Bangladesh said India gave “no reply” to its earlier request seeking Hasina’s extradition, but Dhaka now expects a response from New Delhi as the “situation is different now” with the judicial process completed and the former premier convicted. “I do not expect that they (India) will answer within a week of Dhaka's request, but we expect we will get an answer,” Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Adviser M Touhid Hossain told reporters.

 

India on Wednesday also rejected Pakistan's criticism of PM Modi's participation in a ceremony at Ayodhya's Ram temple and said the neighbouring country, with a deeply strained record of repression of minorities, has no moral standing to lecture others.