Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Prime Minister Mark Carney at the G7 summit on Tuesday. Canada’s intelligence agency warns in a new report that the country remains a source of foreign interference. PHOTO: THE CANADIAN PRESS
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan on Thursday expressed concerns over a long-term uranium supply deal and a nuclear cooperation deal concluded between India and Canada during Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent visit to New Delhi, warning that such country-specific deals risk undermining the global nuclear non-proliferation framework and destabilizing the strategic balance in South Asia.
The deal, which includes long-term uranium supplies and cooperation on advanced nuclear technologies, was announced after talks between Carney and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the two sides moved to restore ties and expand economic cooperation.
The agreement is part of a broader push to strengthen bilateral trade and energy cooperation, including collaboration on small modular reactors and advanced nuclear technologies.
The uranium supply deal, reportedly valued at about $2.6 billion, will allow Canadian companies to provide nuclear fuel to support India’s civil nuclear energy program as New Delhi expands its nuclear power capacity.
Reacting to this development, the Ministry of External Affairs said that the agreement represented another exception in the field of civil nuclear cooperation granted to India despite long-standing concerns over its nuclear programme.
“Pakistan has noted with concern the long-term uranium supply agreement concluded between Canada and India and the possible cooperation on small modular reactors and advanced reactor technologies between the two parties,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said in a statement.
“This agreement represents another country-specific exception in the field of civil nuclear cooperation. It is particularly ironic given that India’s nuclear test in 1974, conducted using plutonium produced in a reactor supplied by Canada for peaceful purposes, led directly to the establishment of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG),” he added.
The spokesperson said that a state whose actions required the establishment of global export controls is now being granted preferential access under selective agreements.
“India has not placed all of its civilian nuclear facilities under the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency nor has it made any binding commitment to do so under this agreement. Several facilities remain outside international inspection. It is also unclear what concrete nonproliferation guarantees, if any, accompany this agreement.”
Andrabi further said that the strategic consequences were equally worrying.
“Guaranteed external supplies of uranium effectively free up India’s domestic reserves for military use, enabling the expansion of its stockpile of fissile material, accelerating the growth of its nuclear arsenal, and deepening existing asymmetries in South Asia’s strategic balance.”
“In this context, the agreement also undermines Canada’s commitment to the international non-proliferation regime and its corresponding obligations under that framework,” according to the spokesperson.
Pakistan reiterated that civil nuclear cooperation should be governed by a non-discriminatory criteria-based approach equally applicable to states that are not parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
“Selective exceptions diminish the credibility of the global non-proliferation framework and risk further destabilizing regional and global peace and security.”
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held a telephone conversation with Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand during which both sides discussed bilateral relations and ways to further enhance economic cooperation.
Although the official readout did not say so, the issue of the Canada-India nuclear deal came up during the phone conversation.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the two leaders explored avenues to expand cooperation in multiple sectors, including agriculture, clean energy and critical minerals, while emphasizing the importance of strengthening people-to-people ties between Pakistan and Canada. Anand also appreciated the contribution of the Pakistani diaspora in Canada.
“Both sides emphasized the importance of sustained high-level exchanges to maintain the positive trajectory in bilateral engagement,” the statement said.
The two foreign ministers also exchanged views on developments in regional events, with Dar emphasizing the importance of dialogue, diplomacy and adherence to international law to promote the reduction of tensions and stability in the Middle East and the broader region.
Pakistan has long opposed selective nuclear cooperation agreements with India, arguing that civil nuclear collaboration should be based on a uniform criteria-based framework applicable to all states outside the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and consistent with the principles of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
