India and Canada
held talks on a range of bilateral and international issues on Monday and
decided to expand ties in diverse sectors including health, audio-visual co-production and skill development.
Canada's
Governor General David Johnston held talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
and External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and discussed ways to further
enhance ties between the two countries. India's relations with Canada are on an
upswing. It had signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement with Canada in
2010 that allowed them to initiate
negotiations for uranium supply from Canada.
India is also keen on buying crude oil and
liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Canada on long-term basis to meet its vast and
growing energy needs. After his meeting with the Prime Minister, both countries
inked three pacts including the India-Canada Audio-Visual Co-production
Agreement. This agreement between the
Ministry of Information and the Broadcasting and Heritage, Canada, will open
doors for audio-visual collaborations between the two countries. As per the
pact, co-productions will receive national treatment in both the countries. Another pact for collaboration between the
Department of Biotechnology and Grand Challenges, Canada, was signed to address
health and development needs.
The 'Programme of Cooperation' will pave the
way for a collaborative roadmap for addressing global health challenges,
especially relating to women and child health, early child development and
mental health. An MoU between National Skill Development Corporation and
Association of Canadian Community Colleges was also inked. Trade between India and Canada surpassed USD
5.8 billion last year. This represents a 12 per cent increase over 2012 and a
39 per cent increase since 2010. Besides, Canadian investment in India totals
USD 644 million, whereas Indian investment in that country is valued at USD 3.7
billion.
