PM Manmohan Singh said there were vast opportunities in the economic field and invited Canadian investments in India in areas like high technology and infrastructure.
Aiming to give a major push to their ties, India and Canada today signed an energy pact and decided to ink a civil nuclear agreement and undertake a feasibility study for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
Prime minister Manmohan Singh said there were vast opportunities in the economic field and invited Canadian investments in India in areas like high technology and infrastructure.
During his hour-long talks, Singh discussed with his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper the entire gamut of bilateral ties and situation in the region, particularly Pakistan and Afghanistan.
After the talks, the two sides signed an MoU in the field of energy and an MoU for setting up a Joint Study Group for conducting feasibility study for CEPA.
Singh and Harper also said they looked forward to firming up a civil nuclear agreement, which would be significant considering that Canada is the largest exporter of Uranium and India desperately needs the fuel to increase its nuclear power generation.
"The Memorandum of Understanding we have signed on Energy will facilitate greater cooperation in this wide area," Singh said at a joint press conference with Harper.
The objectives of the CEPA would be to encourage trade and investment flows, bilaterally and regionally, contributing to trade and investment facilitation through minimising tariff and non-tariff barriers, reducing any administrative costs and
improving business climate in the two countries.
It will also entail enhancing transparency of regulation and promote cooperation among relevant institutions.
The Joint Study Group will submit its report within six months of its constitution.
Singh said the CEPA was intended to give a boost to the bilateral trade, which is currently below $5 billion.
"We are also working to further strengthen the institutional mechanisms for cooperation such as a Bilateral Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement and a Social Security Agreement," he said.
Noting that his visit was taking place at a critical time of global economic crisis, Harper said the two countries need to work for mutual economic prosperity.
It is time to unite for a common cause and realise the full potential in the ties, he said terming the decision to set up Joint Study Group for CEPA as the first step in this direction.
Talking about the potential in energy sector, he said Canada is an "emerging super power" in the field while India is in need of energy.
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