Canadian PM Justin Trudeau embarks on 7-day India visit

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday embarked on his first official visit to India which he said will be focused on job creation and strengthening ties between the two nations.

Taking to Twitter as he emplaned for India, Trudeau said, "Wheels up for India and a busy visit, focused on creating good jobs and strengthening the deep connection between the people of our two countries." 

Trudeau's seven-day visit is aimed at further boosting strategic ties with a focus on defence and counter-terror cooperation.

National security advisers of India and Canada met in New Delhi this week, ahead of Trudeau's seven-day visit.

On Thursday, a government delegation from Canada paid a visit to the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Canadian Prime Minister will visit the Golden Temple on February 21.

Wheels up for India and a busy visit, focused on creating good jobs and strengthening the deep connection between the people of our two countries.  pic.twitter.com/Jg6UmL9y4S

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 16, 2018

The visit, which includes stops in Agra, Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, and New Delhi, will provide an opportunity for Trudeau to connect with the Indian leaders in government and business, promote empowerment of women and girls, and strengthen Canada and India's close economic ties.

Trudeau, who will be accompanied by his wife and three children, is scheduled to visit Taj Mahal on February 18, and next day he will travel to Ahmedabad where he will visit Sabarmati Ashram. He will visit Akshardham temple in Gandhi Nagar and participate at an event at IIM-Ahmedabad.

On February 20, he will visit Mumbai where he will hold meetings with top business leaders and meet representatives of Indian Film industry to explore various opportunities in the field of cinema.

On February 21, the Canadian PM will travel to Amritsar where he will visit the Golden Temple. He will return to Delhi the same day.

Trudeau is scheduled to visit Jama Masjid and a cricket ground here on February 22 besides delivering a lecture at a gathering of Canadian and Indian business leaders.

He will hold wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Modi on February 23.

The next day, he is scheduled to address a conference of young change-makers before wrapping up his visit.

The ties between India and Canada have been on an upswing. Approximately 1.4 million Canadians are of Indian heritage and India is Canada's second largest source of immigrants.

Canada is also a leading education destination for Indian students, and India is the second largest source of international students, an estimated 124,000 in 2017, as per official figures. 

A number of Trudeau's cabinet colleagues including Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains, Defence Minister Harjit Singh Sajjan, Science and Sports Minister Kirsty Duncan and Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi are also visiting India.