Harper confident of Indo-Canadian civil nuke deal within weeks

New Delhi, Nov 19 (PTI) Canadian Prime Minister Stephen
Harper has expressed confidence about concluding a civil
nuclear deal with India within weeks, asserting that
prejudices of the past would not be allowed to come in the
way.
He made it clear that Canada was keen to forge a civil
nuclear agreement with India and had no issues regarding
safety of nuclear installations here, notwithstanding some
opposition back home in this regard.
"We were anxious to conclude the agreement. But there is
still some amount of work to be done," Harper, who held talks
with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday, told
NDTV.
Asked whether there were any hurdles or difficulties, he
said, "I don't think that there is anything that can't be
resolved. In fact, I and Prime Minister Singh agreed to take a
close examination over the next few weeks of what the
remaining hurdles are and how that can be resolved."
On whether he was hopeful of the issues being sorted
out, he said, "I would hope so. It is a very high priority for
the government to get this done and the same thing is true on
the Indian side."
When pointed out that countries like the US, France and
Russia have already made a head start by signing nuclear
agreements with India, Harper said, Canada was "anxious" to
close that gap.
He said Canada, being the largest uranium producer in
the world, has comparative strengths against some other
countries.
When referred to concerns in Canada over safety of
nuclear installations in India particularly in the wake of
terror alert, Harper acknowledged that "some are in
opposition" but rejected them, saying it would be a "throwback
to 1970s."
The Canadian Prime Minister was referring to his
country's decision to snap nuclear ties with India after the
1974 Pokhran tests in the wake of allegations that India had
developed it using fissionable material from Canada.
"There is no safer place in the emerging world than
India. Our major allies, as you already said, have signed
nuclear cooperation agreements with India... If it is good
enough for our allies, it is good for us," he said.
Harper made it clear that he would not allow "fears
and concerns from two generations ago to interfere with the
future nuclear cooperation which is vital to both our
countries."
Talking about the advantages of Indo-Canadian nuclear
cooperation, Harper said his country has vast energy resources
with a relatively small market while India is a large country
and has a growing market with a deficiency in energy
resources.
On Canadian national Lashkar-e-Taiba operative
Tahawwur Rana, who has been arrested by FBI for planning
attacks here, Harper promised "close cooperation" with India
as well as the United States.
"Canada cooperates very closely with the US in cases
like this and obviously we will extend that courtesy to
India," he said but refused to go into specifics. PTI SJY
ANU