INDIA - CANADA – INTERNATIONAL
News:
Freedom of expression being misused in Canada by anti-India elements: MEA
What's in the news?
● Freedom
of expression is being "misused" by extremists in Canada to
"legitimize terrorism", Arindam Bagchi, official spokesperson of the
Ministry of External Affairs.
India - Canada Relations:
Backdrop:
● Canada
and India have longstanding bilateral relations built upon shared traditions of
democracy, pluralism and strong
interpersonal connections.
● This
is complemented by economic engagement, regular high-level interactions and
long-standing people-to-people ties.
● Canada
is home to one of the largest South Asian communities abroad, with
approximately 5.6% of Canadians being of
Indian heritage (1.9 million people).
1. Trade Relations:
● A
priority market for Canada, in 2021, India was Canada’s 14th largest export
market, and 13th largest trading partner overall.
● India
will be a key partner as Canada
strengthens its economic links to the Indo-Pacific under a new, comprehensive
strategy for the region.
● Indian exports
include gems, jewelry and precious stones, pharmaceutical products, readymade
garments, light engineering goods, iron & steel articles, etc.
● India’s imports
from Canada include pulses, newsprint, wood pulp, asbestos, potash, iron scrap,
copper, minerals and industrial chemicals, etc.
● Indian
companies have invested especially in the IT, software, steel and natural
resources sectors
● Canada’s
commercial priorities in India are targeted at India’s policy objectives and
sectors where Canada has a comparative advantage. These priorities include:
○ Supporting
India’s energy security ambitions
through increased exports of conventional and nuclear energy as well as clean
and renewable energy technology.
○ Helping
India meet its substantial urban and
transportation infrastructure needs through provision of financing,
equipment, technology and engineering services.
○ Enhanced
education and skills training through
greater collaboration between Canadian and Indian educational and technical
skills institutions.
○ Commercial research and development
to drive innovation in such sectors as
information and communications technologies.
○ Increased
exports of food products and fertilizers
to support India’s food security needs.
○ Focusing
on opportunities for Canadian partnerships as suppliers in the Life Sciences sector to support India’s
industry-leading presence in the pharmaceutical sector;
○ Integrating
Canadian companies into India’s automotive
supply chains
● Canada
and India are working toward a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement
(CEPA) and Foreign Investment
Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA).
● Canada
views concluding an Early Progress Trade Agreement [EPTA] as a step toward a Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Agreement in expanding market access.
● Canada
and India hold Ministerial Dialogues on trade and investment.
2. Cooperation in Energy sectors:
● India
and Canada signed a Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (NCA) in 2010 for which a Joint Committee on Civil Nuclear
Cooperation was constituted by both the countries.
● In
2015, when the Indian PM visited Canada, a Uranium
supply deal was signed.
● Energy cooperation
agreements were signed in 2018, when the Canadian
Prime Minister visited India.
3. Space Cooperation:
● ISRO
and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) have signed MOUs for cooperation in the field
of exploration and utilization of outer space and two Implementation
Arrangements specifically addressing satellite
tracking and space astronomy have also been signed.
● ANTRIX,
the Commercial arm of ISRO has launched many Canadian Satellites.
4. Education Sector:
● In
2018, India was the largest source of international students for Canada’s
universities, colleges and schools.
● IC-IMPACTS
(the India-Canada Centre for Innovative Multidisciplinary Partnerships to
Accelerate Community Transformation and Sustainability) is a research center
dedicated to the development of research collaborations between Canada and
India.
5. People-to-people connections:
● On
people-to-people connect, the strategy said it would invest in and connect
people, including by “bolstering
Canada’s visa-processing capacity in New Delhi and Chandigarh” as also
support academic, educational, cultural, youth and research exchanges.
● Indian Diaspora:
○ The
Diaspora is well represented in federal Parliament and provincial legislatures.
○ For
example, The New Democratic Party,
one of the coalition party of the present Canadian government, is headed by a
person of Indian Origin (Jagmeet Singh).
6. Cooperation in Security and Defence;
● India
and Canada collaborate closely in international fora, particularly through the
United Nations (UN), Commonwealth and G-20. Defence ties have been expanding
with mutual ship visits.
● There
is robust cooperation on counter terrorism issues particularly through the
framework of the Joint Working Group
(JWG) on Counter Terrorism.
7. Institutional Partnership:
● Both
the countries also formed various organizations such as Canada - India
Parliamentary Friendship Group (CIPEG), Canada India Business Council (CIBC),
Canada India Foundation (CIF), Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (I-CCC) for
strengthening India-Canada Cooperation.
● Various
MOU’s between India and Canada has
been signed in sectors such as
○ Agriculture
○ Civil
Aviation and Railways
○ Double
taxation etc.
Challenges ahead:
Though
India and Canada have long standing relationships, the co-operation never
achieved its full potential because of various reasons.
1. Khalistani separatist factor:
● It
is the single most important challenge
between India and Canada ties.
● Sikhs
constitute a significant proportion of the Indian diaspora; they make up little
less than one percent (a little over 500,000) of Canada’s total population and
few leaders in Canada support Khalistan movement to large extent for electoral
gains in Canada.
● The
Ontario Provincial Parliament adopted a resolution terming the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as ‘genocide’ and
many other Canadian leaders also support that even today.
● During
the recent Canadian PM visit to India, a controversial picture where former
Sikh separatist Jaspal Atwal has surfaced in the news.
● The
Canadian government usually tries to balance the Sikh assertions and the
government's India policy. This makes India Canada relationship at stake.
● It
is also the reason for the recent
Canadian PM’s support for the Indian farmer’s protest.
2. Trade Relations:
● Though
both the countries are involved in Trade for a long time the trade deals “always underperformed”
said by the Ministry of External Affairs, India.
● Feminization of Canadian
Trade Policies:
○ The
Canadian Government put in gender
clauses in the trade pact. Though it is revolutionary, in countries like
India it was seen as a non-tariff barrier.
○ For
Example, The Canadian Trade agreement with Chile has the entire Chapter devoted
to women.
3. Bilateral agreements:
● Comprehensive
Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements
(BIPPA), have been in negotiation for a
long time and no progress is reached by both the countries.
4. Strategic Location:
● Canada
surrounded by developed Western countries does not clearly understand India
located with hostile neighbors like China and Pakistan.
● The
terms and conditions have heavily tilted towards developed countries and Indian
interests are not considered seriously so far.
WAY FORWARD:
● Canada
has to understand and remove Feminization
clause in trade pacts or give more time to countries like India to complete
the terms associated.
● Canada
is one of the most advanced countries in terms of renewable energy. India with its focus on renewable energy targets
in Nationally Determined Contributions has to strike a deal or MOU regarding
renewable energy.
● Infrastructure
and transport sectors are potential areas of cooperation and investment.
India’s ambitious ‘smart cities’
initiative creates opportunities for Canadian firms like Bombardier, etc.
● In
2017, the Canadian government announced that Canada will take in 1Million more
Immigrants. With the US and few other Western Countries turning down migrants,
Canada turned as an alternative
destination for Indians and India has to leverage that.
● Canadian Energy reserves:
According to the World Oil Outlook Report, India’s oil demand will double by
2040. Canada’s Oil and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) resources offer a better
alternative towards Indian demands.
● Convergence over China
factor: Canada recently started to diverge its
trade relations and opposed China’s diplomacy. India has a potential to become
a trade supplier.
There
is enough potential for both India and Canada to boost the cooperation and take
their relations to the next level. But it requires Canadian effort by widening
their Indian perspective. This can happen if India diverts from politically
contentious issues.