India, Canada decide to establish defence dialogue, says PM Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that India and Canada will work towards enhancing defence industries, maritime domain awareness and military exchanges and announced the establishment of a defence dialogue.

While addressing a joint press meet with his Canadian counterpart, Mark Carney, following their talks in New Delhi on Monday, PM Modi said, "The growing cooperation in the field of defence and security is a symbol of our deep mutual trust and the maturity of our relationship. We will work to enhance defence industries, maritime domain awareness and military exchanges...Today, we have decided to establish the India-Canada Defence Dialogue."

He extended a warm welcome to Mark Carney in India and called his visit an "important milestone."

PM Modi noted that the ties between the two nations have been energised, and mutual trust and positivity have come in the bilateral ties since the first meeting between him and Carney.

"I am delighted to welcome Prime Minister Carney to India. This is his first visit to India as Prime Minister. We view this as an important milestone. He warmly welcomed me and my delegation at the G7 meeting in Canada last year," he said.

"It is a privilege to welcome him with the same warmth today. There are very few people in the world whose CVs include leadership of the central bank of two nations," PM Modi said, warmly welcoming the Canadian PM, and added, "Since our first meeting, our relationship has been energised, and mutual trust and positivity have developed. I credit my friend Prime Minister Carney for the growing momentum in our cooperation."

He announced that India and Canada have a goal to increase bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030. PM Modi stated that he and Carney have decided to finalise the India-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement soon.

"India and Canada are deeply committed to democratic values. We celebrate diversity. We share a common vision for the welfare of humanity, which inspires us to advance together in every field. Today, we discussed transforming this vision into a next-level partnership. Our goal is to increase our bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030," he said.

The Prime Minister mentioned that "unlocking the full potential" of the economic cooperation between India and Canada is a "top priority" and hence, said that both leaders have decided to finalise the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement soon.

"This will create investment and employment opportunities in two nations. Canadian pension funds have invested $100 billion in India. This reflects their deep belief in India's growth story," he said.

PM Modi said that value addition in agriculture, agri-technology and food security are shared priorities of India and Canada. He announced that an India-Canada Pulse Protein Centre of Excellence will be established in India.

"We are pleased that Canada has decided to join the International Solar Alliance and the Global Biofuel Alliance. To advance our shared efforts, we will convene the India-Canada Renewable Energy and Storage Summit this year. In Civil Nuclear Energy, we have signed a landmark deal for long-term uranium supply. We will also work together on small modular reactors and advanced reactors," he said.

Terming people-to-people a driving force of bilateral ties, PM Modi said, "People-to-people ties are the driving force of our relationship. Today, we have taken several important decisions to further strengthen them. New partnerships between several universities in AI, healthcare, agriculture, and innovation are being announced today. We have also agreed on Canadian universities opening campuses in India."