Canadian PM Justin Trudeau to visit India from February 17-23

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will arrive in India next month for a seven-day visit aimed at strengthening the bilateral strategic partnership in the key areas of counter-terrorism, energy and trade.

The Canadian premier will India from February 17-23 at the invitation of his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, the external affairs ministry said in a statement.

A Canadian high commission statement said that during his India trip, Trudeau will visit Agra, Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, besides Delhi.

The trip will include a visit to the Taj Mahal, the Golden Temple, the Jama Masjid, and the Swaminarayan Akshardham in Gujarat, it said.

The ministry of external affairs statement said that cooperation in security and counter-terrorism as well as exchange of views on global and regional issues of mutual interest will form important components of the visit.

“The visit is aimed at further strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries in key areas of mutual interest including trade and investment, energy, science and innovation, higher education, infrastructure development, skill development and space,” the MEA said.

Canada is one of the uranium suppliers to India and the two nations also have a nuclear cooperation pact in place.

“I look forward to meeting with Prime Minister Modi, and further strengthening the Canada-India friendship,” the Canadian high commission statement quoted Trudeau as saying.

“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,” he said.

Talks to step up cooperation in the area of space between the two sides will also be on the agenda during Trudeau’s visit.

Trudeau will also participate in several business round-tables to promote further trade and investment between the two countries, the Canadian mission’s statement said.

The two-way trade has increased from $4.2 billion in 2010 to $8.02 billion in 2016.

The MEA said India and Canada share a strategic partnership underpinned by the values of democracy, pluralism, equality for all and rule of law.

Strong people-to-people contacts and the presence of a large Indian diaspora in Canada provide a strong foundation for the relationship, it added.

Canada is home to over 1.2 million Persons of Indian Origin who comprise more than 3 per cent of its population.

Modi had made a bilateral visit to Canada in April 2015. The last visit of a Canadian prime minister to India was in November 2012 when Stephen Harper had made a trip to the country.

Image: Justin Trudeau's India visit will include stops in Agra, Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, and New Delhi. Photograph: Kham/Reuters