Canada, which welcomes about 25,000 new Indian immigrants annually, is opening yet another consulate in India.
International Trade Minister Jim Peterson, who visits India with a huge trade delegation for four days from April 3, will open the new consulate in Chennai.
Just two years ago, Canada had opened a consulate-general in Chandigarh during the visit of the then Prime Minister Jean Chretien. The Canadian consulate in Mumbai has also been upgraded to consulate-general.
Prime Minister Paul Martin had visited India in January this year, but no concrete agreements could be signed at that time. However, the two countries are likely to cover a lot of ground for cooperation in the IT sector, agriculture, infrastructure and investment during Peterson's engagement with Indian leaders, including ministers for finance, commerce and agriculture, in Delhi and Mumbai.
The opening of yet another consulate and new agreements will mark yet another step in Canada's "re-engagement" with India.
The relationship between the countries had suffered a setback after India exploded nuclear devices in May 1998. Canada slapped trade sanctions and called back its envoy from New Delhi. However, that phase was short-lived.
As Indo-Canadian MP Deepak Obhrai, who is Opposition Critic for International Trade-- Emerging Markets and part of the delegation to India, says, "That was a mistake on the part of the then foreign minister Axworthy. When the whole world was recognising India as an emerging power and engaging it, Canada was doing the opposite. So much so that when our (Opposition) leader Preston Manning went to India in 1999, the Department of Trade told him not to go.''
{{/usCountry}}As Indo-Canadian MP Deepak Obhrai, who is Opposition Critic for International Trade-- Emerging Markets and part of the delegation to India, says, "That was a mistake on the part of the then foreign minister Axworthy. When the whole world was recognising India as an emerging power and engaging it, Canada was doing the opposite. So much so that when our (Opposition) leader Preston Manning went to India in 1999, the Department of Trade told him not to go.''
{{/usCountry}}Today, major Indian IT players have presence in Canada. India's FDI in this country has risen to $62m. The Canadian FDI in India is pegged at $184m.
In 2003-04, Canada exported goods worth $764 million to India while its imports from India stood at $1.42 billion. Over the past five years, the bilateral trade has risen substantially.