Chennai: Delegates representing the Indo-Canadian Chambers of Commerce on Sunday spoke of the absence of potential growth in trade between the two countries, which remains at $5 billion. They were on a visit to 11 cities in the country, Chennai included, and were speaking at a conference to promote bilateral investment by the two trading partners.
Naval Bajaj, president of the Indo-Canadian Chambers of Commerce, said, “There is a 1.2 million-strong Indian diaspora in Canada that is immensely interested in doing business in India. Presently, the Canada-India trade, which is to the tune of $5 billion, is well below the potential. The signing of the comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) will boost existing trade.” The two countries are in talks over CEPA.
“We believe that with better cooperation, this figure could reach $15 million. We are also planning to open a resource centre in India to facilitate Canadians in getting the know-how on Indian business,” Bajaj said.
“There is also a need for the branding of India in Canada and vice versa, Canada, too, has potential trade sectors in energy, education and oil,” he added.
Governor K. Rosaiah, present at the conference, said, “Indo-Canadian relations date back to several years. I am happy to note that more than 300 MoUs have been signed to share and collaborate on joint research programmes in the fields of higher education between both countries.”
