Saskatoon-based Cameco, a major player in the extraction and processing of uranium, says it is pleased to learn of a deal that could lead to sales in India.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who is in India on a trade mission, announced the agreement Tuesday.

It took about two years to negotiate the deal.

India has a well-established nuclear power program and reportedly has plans to build 12 new reactors in the next decade.

"It's got a large growth program in its nuclear power business. Of course, they'll be needing uranium to power those nuclear plants," Tim Gitzel, the CEO of Cameco, said Tuesday. "As Cameco, we see that as an important market."

According to published reports, India's demand for uranium is expected to triple soon, ramping up to an estimated $650 million worth of uranium purchases, in a year.

According to the news agency Reuters, while the agreement with India has been announced, legal review and translation into French and Hindi are still required.

Canada imposed a ban on nuclear cooperation with India in 1976, Reuters noted, after India secretly exploded its first nuclear bomb in 1974 using material from a Canadian-built reactor.

With files from CBC's David Shield