Toronto (PTI): Canada and India are negotiating a comprehensive nuclear deal that will allow the country to develop civilian nuclear power plants, a spokesperson of the foreign office said.

Both sides had "informal" discussions last month and expect to schedule formal sessions soon, Lisa Monette, the spokesperson, said and added that Canada signalled its support for India's re-engagement with the broader nuclear energy community when it backed the suppliers' group decision.

"India is a responsible democracy that shares with Canada the fundamental values of freedom, democracy, human rights and respect for the rule of law," she remarked.

"India has made substantial non-proliferation and disarmament commitments to achieve the trust of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), which were reiterated in a political statement on September 5."

The negotiations come after Canada backed a decision by the NSG to provide an exemption for India that would allow it to develop civilian nuclear power even as it maintains its right to develop weapons without international scrutiny, Monette said.

She said Canada and India have longstanding bilateral ties built upon shared values of democracy and pluralism and strong people-to-people links. In recent years, both countries have been working to enhance bilateral cooperation in a number of areas of mutual priority.