Toronto: Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) hailed the just-concluded visit of Prime Minister Stephen Harper to India.
“This is an historic step forward in the burgeoning relationship between Canada and India and will pave the way for more enhanced trade between our two countries,” Naval Bajaj, President, ICCC, said in Bangalore.
Bajaj was a member of the delegation that accompanied the Prime Minister on the six-day India trip. Prime Minister Harper was accompanied by Mrs. Laureen Harper and a high-level delegation comprising three Minister, five Members of Parliament, two Senators, senior officials and business persons, including four members of the India-Canada CEO Forum.
The highlight of the Prime Ministerial visit was the signing of a slew of agreements including:
- · The Administrative Arrangement between Canada and India that will allow the implementation of the Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (NCA), signed between the two countries in June 2010.
- · The Canada-India Social Security Agreement which will enable Canada and India to better coordinate the pension benefits and contributions for their citizens who have worked in both countries.
- · Fourteen trade and investment agreements and announcements between Canadian and Indian companies worth over $2.5billion.
- · The MOU between India’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and Department of Industry Canada to provide the necessary framework for cooperation in the Information Communication Technology and Electronics (ICTE) sector between the two countries for establishing a strong and effective business to business partnership and cooperation
In addition to New Delhi, Prime Minister Harper visited Agra, Chandigarh, and Bengaluru (Bangalore). During his official engagements in New Delhi, Prime Minister Harper held bilateral consultations with Prime Minister Singh. He also called on the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, and the Vice President of India, Shri Hamid Ansari. Prime Minister Harper met the Leader of the Opposition Smt. Sushma Swaraj and the UPA Chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi.
While welcoming the agreements in nuclear cooperation and social security, the President of ICCC also emphasized that the two countries should urgently conclude the protracted negotiations on foreign investment protection.
“Clearly, the time is ripe for an agreement on foreign investments between Canada and India. This agreement would propel Canada-India trade and investment relations to more sustainable levels,” Bajaj noted.
The ICCC President also noted that the Chamber welcomed the decision taken during the Prime Ministerial visit to elevate the discussion between Canada and India in the energy and mining sector to Ministerial level. “This will lead to enhanced cooperation in particular, joint efforts to develop capacities to maximize the utilization of energy resources ranging from oil and gas to new hydrocarbon resources such as oil sands, shale gas and other sources of energy including renewable,” he said.
Bajaj also hailed the commitment of both the Prime Ministers to conclude the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) by 2013. “It’s heartening to note that both Canada and India realise that at its current level, bilateral trade doesn’t reflect the true potential of commercial relationship,” he said.
In particular, Bajaj welcomed the recognition given to the one-million strong Indian Diaspora in Canada by both the governments who appreciated the contributions made to both societies by the community. “As the largest representative organization of the Indian Diaspora in Canada, our Chamber will facilitate all the efforts undertaken by both the governments to enable the Indian Diaspora to play a more active role in contributing to the fabric of the Canadian society and to the development of India.”
The Chamber is determined to play its supportive role for unlocking the full potential of Canada-India Partnership by mobilizing the networks and resources of Indo Canadians.
