Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will make a state visit to India from February 17 to 23, responding to an invitation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Announcing his decision, Trudeau said “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.”
Nadir Patel, the Canadian High Commissioner in New Delhi said: “Canada greatly values its strong relationship with India. This visit reflects the high level of priority that Prime Minister Trudeau places on this strategic partnership. Prime Minister Trudeau’s visit builds on visits by 11 Cabinet Ministers of the Trudeau Government in the past 18 months .
Besides the national capital, Prime Minister Trudeau will visit Agra, Amritsar, Ahmedabad and Mumbai. He will engage with youth and visit the Taj Mahal, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the Jama Masjid, and Swami Narayan temple in Akshardham, covering the diversity among Indian citizens in Canada. He will also meet with Indian leaders in government and business, promote the empowerment of women and girls, and strengthen Canada and India’s close economic ties.
The visiting prime minister will also participate in several business round-tables to promote further trade and investment between Canada and India.
Indian ministers, too, have visited Canada aplenty during this period. The visit is significant given Canada is home to a large Indian diaspora who form about 3.6 per cent of Canadians. India is also the second largest source of immigrants. Last year, the North American country attracted 124,000 Indians .
The two countries enjoy a flourishing relationship and share a commitment to diversity, democracy, freedom and the rule of the law. Canada has many elected representatives from its citizens of Indian origin. In terms of trade, too, the two countries share a robust relationship. Over a thousand Canadian companies work from India, and Canadian investment into India has increased by over $15 billion over the past three years mainly through institutional investors. In 2016, two-way merchandise trade between Canada and India totalled $8 billion, while bilateral trade in services reached $2.1 billion.
