India welcomes Canada's "strong involvement" in the expansion of its nuclear power capacity, Canada's Trade Minister Stockwell Day said Wednesday.
Day, on a four-day visit to the world's most populous democracy, also indicated in a statement that Canada aims to finalize a bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement with India "as soon as possible."
"I was encouraged by the very positive response I received from the ministers with whom I met," Day said after meeting with India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath, National Security Adviser M. K. Narayanan and Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal.
"They made it clear that India welcomes the strong involvement of Canadian nuclear companies in this expanding market," he said.
As well, the two nations agreed to start exploratory discussions toward "a comprehensive economic partnership agreement," he said.
India is expected to significantly expand its civilian nuclear program over the next 20 years to meet its growing energy needs.
This will create market opportunities worth up to 50 billion dollars (39 billion US) for firms able to offer technology, equipment and uranium.
The nuclear deal with Canada was the fourth such agreement India has signed after a decision in September by the Nuclear Suppliers Group to waive its ban on the trading of atomic technology with New Delhi.
The trade embargo was imposed after India tested nuclear weapons in 1974, and again in 1998, and refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The United States, Russia and France are the other powers to have signed agreements with New Delhi but former Cold War ally Russia remains so far the only state actively involved in building reactors in the country.
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