Uranium pact possible only due to 2008 nuclear deal: Congress

With India and Canada sealing a key pact on the supply of uranium, the Congress on Monday said this was made possible only because of the 2008 Indo-US nuclear agreement, which was signed as a result of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s insistence and persistence.

India and Canada on Monday sealed key pacts on the supply of uranium and critical minerals and vowed to soon conclude a comprehensive economic partnership agreement. This came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney held wide-ranging talks in New Delhi.

Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, said India and Canada have signed an agreement on the supply of uranium and on cooperation in building small modular reactors.

After India’s very first commercial nuclear reactor, supplied by the US company GE at Tarapur in Maharashtra, Canada was assisting India in setting up heavy water reactors at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu, and other places, he pointed out.

This assistance was stopped after the peaceful nuclear explosion at Pokhran on May 18, 1974, Ramesh said on X.

These reactors were actually called CANDU reactors for Canada Deuterium Uranium, he said.

“The agreement that Canada and India have signed today has been made possible ONLY because of the Indo-US Nuclear Agreement finally signed in Oct 2008. This agreement was ENTIRELY because of Manmohan Singh’s insistence and persistence. The agreement had been vehemently opposed by the BJP then,” Ramesh said on X.

In a media statement after the talks, Modi said, “In civil nuclear energy, we have signed a landmark deal for long-term uranium supply. We will also work together on small modular reactors and advanced reactors.”

Carney described the uranium supply agreement as a reflection of shared commitment to clean, reliable energy.