Indian envoy to Canada discusses ‘mutually beneficial’ ties with Alberta Premier

Ottawa: Indian High Commissioner to Canada Dinesh K Patnaik met Premier of Alberta province Danielle Smith and discussed energy, trade, agriculture and technology collaboration.

“We had an excellent discussion on key aspects of our bilateral partnership,” the High Commission of India in Ottawa posted on social media on Monday (local time), quoting Patnaik. 

He said that there is “great potential ahead to elevate our relationship through fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial cooperation.” The Indian envoy also discussed “energy, trade, agriculture, technology collaboration, research, and people-to-people ties” with Alberta premier.  Premier Smith said that “Alberta has deep and growing ties with India,” and they held a discussion on how to take that partnership to the “next level.”

“We discussed Alberta’s role in helping meet India’s growing needs for safe, reliable energy, high-quality agricultural products, as well as new opportunities in technology,” Smith said.  She said with a “strong Indo-Canadian community here at home and Indian companies already investing in Alberta,” there is huge potential ahead.

“Our message is simple, Alberta is open for business and ready to be a long-term partner in India’s growth,” Smith added.  India and Canada have agreed to resume negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with an aim to increase the two-way trade to $50 billion by 2030, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had said on Monday.

India's exports to Canada rose 9.8 per cent to $4.22 billion in 2024-25 from $3.84 billion in 2023-24. Imports, however, dipped 2.33 per cent to $4.44 billion in the last fiscal year from $4.55 billion in 2023-24.

Bilateral trade in goods and services between India and Canada stood at $18.38 billion in 2023.

There are about 2.9 million Indian diaspora and over 4,27,000 Indian students in Canada.