Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, will visit India from February 17 to 23. Cooperation in security, counter-terrorism, as well as exchange of views on other global and regional issues will form the important components of discussions even as the two sides will explore increasing trade and investments.
Trudeau will be in New Delhi at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had paid a bilateral visit to Canada in April 2015. This will be the first visit by a Canadian PM in the last five years. The last visit of a Canadian PM to India was in November 2012.
“Canada and India share a special bond, and are linked by tremendous people-to-people connections. The more than one million Canadians of Indian origin make the relationship between our two countries a truly special one. I look forward to meeting with Prime Minister Modi, and further strengthening the Canada-India friendship,” Trudeau said while announcing his visit to India.
Apart from holding bilateral talks with Modi, Trudeau will also travel to Agra to see Taj Mahal, Amritsar to pray at Golden Temple, Ahmedabad where he will also visit Swaminarayan Akshardham and Mumbai where business round-table conferences have been planned. In New Delhi, Trudeau will be visiting Jama Masjid apart from other landmarks.
“India and Canada share a strategic partnership underpinned by the values of democracy, pluralism, equality for all and rule of law. Strong people-to-people contacts and the presence of a large Indian diaspora in Canada provide a strong foundation for the relationship,” Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement while announcing Trudeau's visit.
“The visit is aimed at further strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries in key areas of mutual interest including trade and investment, energy, science and innovation, higher education, infrastructure development, skill development and space. Cooperation in security and counter-terrorism as well as exchange of views on global and regional issues of mutual interest will also form important components of the visit,” MEA added.
The High Commissioner, Nadir Patel, said Canada greatly values its strong relationship with India and this visit reflects the high level of priority that PM Trudeau places on this strategic partnership. “PM Trudeau's visit builds on visits by 11 Cabinet Ministers of the Trudeau Government in the past 18 months,” Patel said.
The Canadian Government said that the two countries enjoy a Rs flourishing relationship', one that Canada is committed to further strengthening. “Our two countries share much in common, including a commitment to diversity, democracy, freedom, and the rule of law. This visit will build on these shared commitments as well as on recent meetings, held between Prime Ministers Trudeau and Modi, and Ministers from both countries. The visit will provide an opportunity for Prime Minister Trudeau to connect with Indian leaders in Government and business, promote the empowerment of women and girls, and strengthen Canada and India's close economic ties,” Canadian High Commission said in a statement
Canada is home to a large Indian diaspora, as approximately 3.6 per cent of Canadians are of Indian heritage and India is Canada's second largest source of immigrants. In 2016, two-way merchandise trade between Canada and India totalled $8 billion. Trade in services reached $2.1 billion. Canadian investment into India has increased by over $15 billion over the past three years mainly through institutional investors, and the number of Canadian companies active in India stands at over 1000. Canada is a leading education destination for Indian students; approximately 124,000 Indians held a valid Canadian study permit in 2017.