Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Mar 2: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney praised Narendra Modi for steering India to become the world’s fastest-growing economy over the past decade. Speaking at a joint press briefing in New Delhi, Carney highlighted the deepening India-Canada engagement over the last year, describing it as a revitalised partnership with fresh ambition, focus, and foresight.
Carney noted India’s remarkable economic progress, saying that per capita incomes have grown at unprecedented rates and lauded the vision reflected in India’s G20 presidency theme, “One Earth, One Family, One Future,” emphasizing that global challenges require multilateral cooperation.
During their discussions at Hyderabad House, both leaders reviewed the full spectrum of bilateral cooperation, covering trade and investment, defence and security, education and culture, clean energy, critical minerals, artificial intelligence, supercomputing, and mobility. They also addressed regional and global security concerns, including terrorism, extremism, and radicalisation.
Several MoUs were signed in key areas such as civil nuclear cooperation, energy, critical minerals, education and skill development, science and technology, and culture. The leaders also announced a renewal of defence and security cooperation through a new defence partnership, maritime collaboration in the Indo-Pacific, professional military exchanges, and practical coordination on shared security interests. Carney recalled previous meetings with PM Modi at the G7 and G20 Summits and described this visit as the first bilateral trip by a Canadian Prime Minister to India in eight years.
Carney highlighted the unprecedented level of engagement over the past year, noting that Canadian foreign ministers and provincial premiers had met Indian counterparts multiple times, with four ministerial delegations visiting India. He described this period as an expansion of a valued relationship, with both countries charting a confident course for the future.
On trade, Carney confirmed that India and Canada aim to finalise a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement by the end of the year. The pact is expected to reduce trade barriers, increase certainty for exporters and investors, and help double bilateral trade by 2030.
Carney also emphasised the strong people-to-people connections, noting nearly two million Canadians of Indian origin, tens of thousands of annual travelers between the nations, and over 400,000 Indian students studying in Canada—twice as many as in the United States. Building on these ties, both countries plan to launch a new talent and innovation strategy with 13 partnerships in education, involving institutions such as McGill University, University of Toronto, and University of British Columbia, focusing on artificial intelligence, health sciences, and digital architecture.
Finally, Carney announced the expansion of collaboration between the Canadian Space Agency and the Indian Space Research Organisation on Earth observation, climate monitoring, agriculture data, disaster response, and climate resilience across the Indo-Pacific, reinforced by strengthened trade and defence cooperation.