By IANS
New Delhi : India and Canada Saturday held talks on a wide range of subjects, from the situation in the Middle East and Myanmar to trade and climate change.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and visiting Canadian Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier held hour-long extensive discussions, which spilled over into lunch.
Eternal affairs ministry spokesperson Navtej Sarna said the topics of discussions covered “trade between the two countries, possibilities of closer contacts on global issues and the need to intensify the bilateral dialogue mechanisms already in position”.
The regional and global issues included the situation in Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, the Middle East peace process, North American Free Trade Agreement and climate change.
Mukherjee briefed his Canadian counterpart on the South Asian Association on Regional Cooperation (Saarc), and the proceedings of its last summit held in New Delhi.
The official spokesperson was silent on whether India asked for Canada’s support at the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) for the proposal to allow global nuclear commerce with India. But Canada has so far not taken a supportive role for the proposal, preferring to wait and watch India’s negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) over a safeguards agreement and the passage of the India-US nuclear deal through the Indian political system.
Historically, Canada had taken a strong stand against India over nuclear trade, severing all ties in this sector in 1976. It had accused New Delhi of using plutonium produced from the Canadian Cirus reactor in India’s first nuclear explosion in violation of conditions.