NEW DELHI – Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday pitched a strategic reset in India-Canada relations, declaring that bilateral ties have taken a “light-year leap” under the leadership of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and setting an ambitious target of USD 50 billion in two-way trade.
Addressing the India-Canada CEO Forum, Modi said the relationship was entering a transformative phase marked by renewed trust and clarity, despite global economic uncertainty. “Today, we are going to write a new chapter in India-Canada relations,” he said, noting that although Carney has been in office for less than a year, ties have gained fresh momentum.
He added that the two leaders have taken key decisions to advance their shared vision and are working to finalise the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) at the earliest.
The Prime Minister underscored that the renewed engagement comes at a time when the global economic order is under pressure. “At such a time, deliberations of business leaders from India and Canada will prepare a new blueprint for our partnership,” he said.
Highlighting shared democratic values and economic complementarities, PM Modi described the two nations as “natural partners” with a combined GDP of over USD 6 trillion. However, he stressed that governments can only create policy frameworks, and the real momentum must come from industry leaders.
Further, PM Modi outlined five priority areas for collaboration. In clean energy, he pointed to enhanced cooperation in nuclear power, including long-term uranium supply contracts and opportunities in small modular reactors and advanced nuclear technologies. On critical minerals, he called for resilient supply chains by combining Canada’s innovation with India’s scale in batteries and energy storage.
In infrastructure, he cited India’s record USD 130 billion allocation in the latest budget and the USD 1.3 trillion National Infrastructure Pipeline, inviting greater Canadian participation. Canadian pension funds have already invested about USD 100 billion in India, he noted.
On technology, Modi proposed joint AI compute corridors and innovation sandboxes for startups, alongside deeper cooperation in electronics, aerospace and engineering. He also flagged food processing supported by India’s expanding mega food parks and cold chain networks as another area for win-win collaboration.
Emphasising sub-national partnerships, Modi urged closer links between provinces and Indian states, citing potential synergies between Alberta and Gujarat, Ontario and Tamil Nadu, and Montreal’s tech ecosystem with Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
In a lighter moment, he invoked cricket diplomacy, referencing Canada’s participation in the T20 World Cup in India, and said that like in T20 cricket, fast decisions and strong partnerships would shape the future of India-Canada
ties.
ANN/The Statesman
