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Q. A new government under Manmohan Singh, heading the UPA coalition, has assumed charge in India and so is the case with Canada with the installation of a new government. How do you perceive bilateral relations between the two countries with the change of regime in Delhi?
It is and will be very much business as usual. It is very much part of the process of continuity and change. We had a warm relationship with the NDA government and we are sure the same will continue with the Manmohan Singh government. We congratulate the new government and hope that relationships between India and Canada, already cemented well, will rise to a new partnership height.
The framework for bilateral relation is already there. This only needs to be worked and reworked. The Joint Plan of Action declared last October during Jean Chretein’s visit talks of strengthening bilateral trade and economic ties. It talked of India and Canada joining hands on bilateral and multilateral issues. Hence, every effort needs to be taken to boost trade and business, science and technology relation.
Despite a change in the government, there is a consensus across parties and leaders in Canada that India, as an emerging country has to be actively engaged with. There is no difference in this regard. We want bilateral relations to continue on the same track with this new government, as we had with the earlier one. We firmly believe that India is an important country for us and we seek a strong relationship with this country.
Q. The two countries have come a long way since 1998, when bilateral relations were cold shouldered due to the Pokhran II explosions. Despite differences still persisting, the two countries have moved forward and identified areas of mutual interest. How do you see the bilateral relation in the midst of differences and signs of agreement?
In the Joint Plan of Action endorsed by the two Prime Ministers last October, a proposal was announced to discuss all issues of international security, including issues of proliferation. Our proposal was to have technical and political discussions at the level of experts in both Foreign Ministries covering all security and proliferation issues. Yes, we do have differences with India on these issues, and this was made clear during our Prime Minister’s visit in October, when the two countries agreed to disagree on these aspects. Yet we agreed to move forward as we know proliferation issues have become wider than the NPT. We have been facing new challenges in the world from WMDs. As India and a few countries are outside NPT, we decided to have continuous dialogue to make the world a safer place to live. We believe, as India is an important country in Asia, regular dialogues will help to address these broad but critical issues.
Q. India’s economic reforms have come in handy to boost trade and economic relation between the two partners. Still vast scope to improve the trade basket remains. Don’t you think so?
We do believe that the present level of trade volume of $2 billion between India and Canada can be doubled or tripled in the coming years. The trade baskets on both sides can be further broadened. Canada’s exports to India have been in the field of mineral products like diamonds; agricultural items like wheat and lentils; newsprint; and the biggest basket is manufactured products like IT goods. As India continues to develop, Canada will supply basic requirements to this country. Similarly, the export basket from India to Canada is mixed one, which contains textiles, manufactured products like ceramics and automobile parts. India’s software is also now a major product. On top of all these, it is in the services sector that the two countries will engage deeper in the future. Already, Canadian and Indian investors have moved into each other’s country. Overall, trade ties are going to be more robust and buoyant.
Q. Privatisation, liberalization, and globalisation under the pivotal role of WTO are seen with suspicion and resentment by the Third World and underdeveloped countries. Major issues concerning the developing countries like India are still to be worked out, which the developed world needs to give a serious thought. Don’t you think so?
Absolutely. Canada is a strong advocate on liberalisation of world trade. More so it believes in full agricultural liberalisation. We desire that subsidies by the developed nations should be brought down drastically or ended. This will help in creating efficiency in the farmers. Canada is one such country where subsidies to the farmers are lowest. We believe in free markets and are keen to see that trade practices are open and transparent. In line with our approach, Canada has removed tariffs for products coming from Least Developed Countries (LDCs) like Bangladesh. Markets should be opened up for the poor countries to gain benefit.
Q. The latest G-8 Summit flirted with the idea of including developing countries like India and China into its fold as associate members. In what ways would such moves come to the aid of the developing and the third World?
We welcome any proposal to ensure continuous dialogue with the developing world on vital issues. Canada has been enthusiastic to expand the mandate of the G-20 of WTO and working closely with India on this. We see this forum as a vital ground to discuss critical international economic issues between the North and the South.
Q. The concept of free and transparent global trade and business environment is still not clear for many. Still one comes across developments when hue and cry being raised over outsourcing of BPO jobs. Do incidents like this blur the idea of global free trade?
For Canada, movement of people and services is a global phenomenon, which is a product of globalisation and liberalisation. Such movements depend on the cost of production and operations, which varies from country to country. Countries are free to trade with each other depending on these issues. For instance, in recent times both Indian and Canadian businessmen have opened up business units in each other’s country, which is going to be a win-win situation for both.
Q. Cultural and academic exchanges are other aspects of bilateral relation. One can agree that this areas needs to be enhanced for better ties in future. How will the recent changes by the Canadian High Commission’s visa rules facilitate this?
The changes are for better. Day-by-day the number of applicants to travel to Canada is increasing for business, travel and study purposes. It is interesting that a large number of applicants apply for studying in Canada, which reflects the growing interest to study in Canadian universities, which reflects the high regard that Indian students have for Canadian institutions, not to speak of the excellent performances of Indian students there. To control pressures, we have opened our visa office in Chandigarh, where more than 100 applicants apply each day. We want to facilitate this process. We want to improve our service standards for this. We are trying to make this process for visas easier and user friendly in the next one-year or so. We also plan to open visa centres in Mumbai and in the South to ease the rush to travel to Canada. We hope to issue contracts to increase and improve our services. We have increased the number of staff members for this.
With this purpose, we have introduced a new scheme of visa regulations. From now, only we would be dealing through recognised agents registered in Canada to regulate visas, instead of dealing with and agents, who at times cheat people with their money. Of course, individuals are free to apply without agents
Q. Canada is home to about a million Indo-Canadians. How does this impact relations between the two countries, being thousands of miles apart?
The impact is very great. Indo-Canadians have been part of building modern Canada. Indian immigrants to Canada have added to the diverse culture and society of Canada. They have contributed immensely to the country’s progress. On their part, Indo-Canadians have done very well and occupy important positions in political life, the arts and the universities in Canada. In one way, they have become the bridge to link Canada and India more firmly.
Q. Your tenure in Delhi is not too old. Also, before coming to India you had a perception of India as a complex country too big to handle. How do you see it today?
I come from a country of 30 million people but here I am associated with a billion people, which is 1/6th of humanity. For any Canadian, including me, this is the real challenge, more so because of the diversity of people and culture in this country. But at the same time, this gives us an opportunity, a chance to work and handle a big country like India. Already, we have identified a number of actions. We have upgraded our offices in India. We have a full Consulate General office in Mumbai now. We opened a Consul General office in Chandigarh. You know we have a special historical relation with Punjab. We plan to open our office soon in Chennai. Already we have one in Kolkata. So we have our presence in the four corners of the country, which helps to achived greater interaction with the people of India. I have already traveled to all the metros of the country and I plan to travel a lot more , in order to learn more about this country and its people and to make friends for Canada. Already, we have informal ambassadors for Canada in this country, those Indo-Canadians who have studied in Canada and have business and family ties with our country.
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