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Visit a springboard to take India-Canada ties to new level: Modi
Ottawa, April 15
Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi said he hoped to make his three-day visit to Canada "a
springboard" to take the bilateral partnership in trade, investment and
innovation to a new level, and that both sides would resume commercial
cooperation in civil nuclear energy.
Modi in an Op-Ed piece in
the Globe and Mail on Wednesday said that "after more than four decades,
an Indian prime minister is visiting Ottawa".
"Our relationship
has been adrift in the past. The potential of our partnership remained a
promise on a distant shore. However, in recent years, India and Canada
have begun rediscovering each other. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has
led with great vision to chart a new, more purposeful course in our
relationship. As in Canada, the relationship enjoys broad political
support in India."
He said both will "encourage and facilitate closer engagement between our industries".
Modi
added both sides would "benefit immensely" by early conclusion of a
Bilateral Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement, and
Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
On civil nuclear
energy, Modi said: "During this visit, our two countries will resume
commercial co-operation in civil nuclear energy after decades. This will
be a defining symbol of our mutual trust and understanding, and of our
willingness to look beyond the boundaries of the past to the
opportunities of the future."
Modi, who is to meet Prime Minister
Stephen Harper for talks, said that both Canada and India can harness
their synergies in science and technology to develop affordable
solutions to the challenges of our food security, health and climate
change.
Bilateral cooperation in education and skills "will prepare the global work force for tomorrow", he wrote.
The bilateral relationship is "of growing strategic value", he added.
"In
a troubled world, countries with similar values seek each other with
natural instincts. India and Canada are on the opposite sides of the
globe, but we have shared interests and face many common challenges".
Modi
said the "changing character and growing reach of terrorism have made
cities and communities across the world more vulnerable. India and
Canada must strengthen their cooperation and seek a comprehensive global
response to terrorism. We must also prepare ourselves for the
challenges in the cyberworld and outer space".
He said that
Canada "is a major Asia-Pacific country and should play a more active
role, including in regional institutions, in promoting a stable and
prosperous future for the region. Our partnership helps advance the
cause of global economic revival in the G20. Canada's leadership secured
India its observer status in the Arctic Council".
Modi said that as Gujarat chief minister, he has "experienced the strength and value of Canada's partnership".
"I
seek the same for India. In turn, as Canada looks west to the Pacific
and Asia, she will find no stronger partner than India in the dynamic
region. The success of our partnership will also reinforce our shared
ideals in the world, which is so important for its peaceful, sustainable
and prosperous future," he said.
Modi will visit Toronto on Thursday and Vancouver the following day during the visit.