Stephen Harper's (Kanadischer Prime Minister) aides wouldn't say whether he will sign a civil nuclear accord when he visits India next week. Negotiations, they said, were still under way. But if a deal isn't signed now, it will be signed soon, for this simple reason: Canada needs India more than India needs Canada. The Prime Minister's three-day visit to Delhi, Mumbai and Amritsar will be the longest he has ever spent visiting a country. The itinerary is chock-a-block with meetings, roundtables, wreath-laying and photo-ops. There will be movement toward discussions that could lead to negotiations that may or may not produce a Canada-India free-trade agreement before the youngest among us are old. But the signature piece of the trip is supposed to be a civilian nuclear agreement, which has existed in draft form since the summer. The accord would mirror similar deals reached by the United States, France and, mere days ago, the European Union. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/...india/article1360161/ |