Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said India and Canada can learn a lot from each other and can share each other their best practices. Addressing the Indo-Canadian Business Chamber's Annual National Convention here in the national capital, the Union Minister said India has tremendous potential in critical minerals and their processing, as well as in nuclear energy and other emerging sectors such as AI, ML, data centres, and quantum computing.

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"We have tremendous potential on critical minerals, critical mineral processing technologies, there's a good possibility on nuclear energy, particularly with our engagement with Canada on uranium supplies," he told the gathering.

"We can diversify our supply chains on both sides of the ocean. We can focus on emerging technologies like artificial intelligence with data centers, quantum computing, machine learning, all new-age technologies, where India has very strategic benefits to offer for investors looking to leverage on the AI emerging technology," Goyal said.

India, with a national grid of 500 gigawatt provides tremendous resilience and redundancy, which is very essential for AI data centres, he said.

"...with 250 gigawatt of clean energy already installed and an ambition to double it to 500 gigawatt by 2030, we are one country amongst democracies, which has probably the largest such national grid, a large and ambitious clean energy program and ability to provide genuine 24-hour clean energy," the Minister said

Further, pointing to India's large pool of STEM graduates, the minister said "this skilled manpower is a very valuable resource", in a way, asserting that Canada can absorb these human resources.

India-Canada: A Complementary Relationship

On India-Canada relations, he said ties have "been long and time tested," with a few ups and downs occasionally.

"...the people of both nations share very strong bonds, very strong linkages, whether it's in investment, whether it's in trade, the people-to-people contact with a very large Indian diaspora," he noted.

According to Goyal, India and Canada don't compete with each other and instead both countries actually complement each other.

"The strengths of Canada and the strengths of India together can become a force multiplier for businesses, for investors," he explained.

The recent meetings that Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Mark Carney have had, including the one very recently at the G20 Summit, clearly gave a direction for the future of the Canadian-India relationship, he said. "They have agreed to begin negotiations for a high-ambition comprehensive economic partnership agreement, and double the trade between the two nations by 2030."

He also called for more and more business delegations from both sides visiting each other's countries.

He also spoke of India's economic resilience, pointing to robust GST numbers, low inflation, substantial foreign exchange reserves, a vibrant stock market, and a strong banking system.

A Five-Pronged Approach for the Future

"I think India, working with Canada, will become a force multiplier of significance. And to take the vision of our leaders forward," he said, as he suggested a five-pronged approach which may help policymakers on both sides, business persons from both sides, and indeed the Indo-Canadian Business Chamber to craft out the next decade or two decades' story of this partnership.

They are converting dialogue into delivery, reactivating the India-Canada CEO Forum, advancing the ACITI partnership, promoting joint innovation, and, finally, identifying priority sectors.

Identifying Priority Sectors

"I think we need to really identify the focused areas. Critical minerals certainly could be one. Clean energy holds tremendous potential. Aerospace and defence capabilities are another area that I think we should look at very seriously," he said.

Bilateral Trade Growth

Bilateral trade between India and Canada grew by 10 per cent in 2024 compared to the previous year. In 2024, trade in goods and services reached 23 billion dollars, while merchandise trade alone stood at nearly 8 billion dollars, marking a significant 10 per cent increase over the previous year. (ANI)