The Indo-Canadian nuclear relationship: Possibilities and challenges
| Author | Manpreet Sethi |
| DOI | 10.1177/0020702014521559 |
| Date | 01 March 2014 |
| Published date | 01 March 2014 |
| Subject Matter | Scholarly Essays |
International Journal
2014, Vol. 69(1) 35–47
!The Author(s) 2014
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DOI: 10.1177/0020702014521559
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Scholarly Essay
The Indo-Canadian
nuclear relationship:
Possibilities and
challenges
Manpreet Sethi
Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi, India
Abstract
Canada was among the first countries to participate in India’s nuclear power program.
Not only was CIRUS the first research reactor to be built in India with outside help; it
was also Canada’s first reactor export and marked a breakthrough for its nuclear
industry. But the nuclear relationship foundered when India conducted a peaceful
nuclear explosion in 1974. Differences over non-proliferation and Cold War consider-
ations kept India and Canada apart until the turn of the millennium. Then a number of
factors coalesced in the first decade of the 21st century to lead the two countries to
reconsider their nuclear engagement and sign a nuclear cooperation agreement in 2010.
What made this possible? What are the major contours of the agreement? What
potential does it hold? And what issues still bedevil the nuclear relationship? This article
provides a new perspective on the possibilities and challenges of the Indo-Canadian
nuclear relationship and highlights the importance of the nuclear dimension in their
larger bilateral engagement. While the paper acknowledges that the relationship was
influenced by Cold War considerations, it steers clear of the issues of alignment and
non-alignment and deals with the historical context of the relationship only to extrapo-
late the possibilities and challenges for the future.
Keywords
Nuclear power, reactor sales, non-proliferation, India, Canada
Along with the United States, Canada was one of the first countries to participate
in India’s nuclear power program. Work on the Canada India Reactor US
(CIRUS), India’s first research reactor to be built with outside help, began in
Corresponding author:
Manpreet Sethi, Project Leader, Nuclear Security, Centre for Air Power Studies, Arjan Path, Subroto Park,
New Delhi–110010, India.
Email: manpreetsethi@hotmail.com
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