Your Excellency Prime Minister Harper,
Ladies and Gentlemen of the media,

It is my pleasure to extend a very warm welcome to Prime Minister Harper on his second visit to India. Since his last visit in 2009, our bilateral relations have seen a significant transformation. I am confident that our ties will be marked by increasingly beneficial cooperation in the years ahead.

Prime Minister Harper and I have conducted a comprehensive review of our wide-ranging partnership. We agreed to institute a Strategic Dialogue at the level of Foreign Ministers. We identified energy cooperation, particularly exports of Canadian oil and natural gas as well as renewable energy cooperation, as an area with enormous potential. A Ministerial-level energy dialogue will supplement the Strategic Dialogue and promote specific projects. We also welcomed the recent progress made towards concluding the modalities for the effective operationalization of the agreement on civil nuclear energy cooperation that we had signed in 2010.

There is active collaboration in high technology sectors between our scientific institutions. The Prime Minister and I agreed on the need to develop such linkages. The MOU that has just been signed between DRDO and York University is a welcome foray into bilateral defence technology cooperation, where Canadian prowess is widely acknowledged.

The large Indian origin community in Canada, and the people to people interaction this has fostered, has played a vital role in strengthening our relations. The Social Security Agreement that has been signed today will be of enormous benefit to many expatriate professionals in both countries.

Canada has traditionally been an important partner in our efforts to ensure food security. In this context, both sides have agreed to enhance cooperation in the field of agriculture.

Our economic cooperation is below its potential. The establishment of a bilateral CEOs Forum, and the commitment to a structured dialogue between our Commerce Ministers, will help our trade and economic interaction. We resolved to conclude negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement within the next year. I assured the Prime Minister that India is committed to finalizing a Bilateral Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement, on which negotiations are underway. I also conveyed that India hopes to attract more Canadian investment in India, just as there has been a steady flow of Indian capital into Canada.

India and Canada are nations built on shared values that celebrate democracy, inclusiveness and diversity. We have similar concerns in combating terrorism, extremism and radicalism. The Prime Minister and I agreed to deepen our counter-terrorism cooperation. I conveyed to the Prime Minister our appreciation for Canada’s efforts in promoting peace and development in Afghanistan.

Our two countries have a common interest in the stability of the global financial system. We have a close and effective partnership in the G-20, where India and Canada co-chair the Working Group on a Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth. The Prime Minister and I agreed to intensify our coordination in international fora.

Prime Minister Harper’s visit is yet another milestone in our bilateral relations. It has been a pleasure working with him and I look forward to continuing our fruitful partnership.

Thank you.