India, Canada can bring certainty to global growth: Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday that economies like India and Canada can bring more predictability and certainty to global growth amid geopolitical tensions. Addressing the inaugural ‘Economic and Financial Dialogue’ between India and Canada here, FM Sitharaman said this is a wonderful time in the India-Canada relationship. "After the reset that happened when PM Narendra Modi and PM Mark Carney met, there have been several high-level interactions between the Indian leadership and the Canadian leadership. We are now having the first Economic and Financial Dialogue," she said.

The Finance Minister further stated that this is the best time to start this dialogue between Canada and India because, amid the global uncertainties, economies like India and Canada can bring so much more predictability and certainty to global growth. "On food security and energy security, and critical minerals, there can be such a relationship between Canada and India that will go to the strengthening of our people's purchasing power, ability to face supply chain disruptions, and there will be a conscious effort to address the concentration risks in global sourcing of important commodities,” she contended. FM Sitharaman led the Indian side, and the Canadian side was led by Finance and National Revenue Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne.

Earlier, Diana Virgovicova, CEO and Founder of xatoms, who met the Finance Minister at the high-level Business Roundtable discussion with investors in Toronto, said: "We had a lunch with the minister and the government representatives and it was amazing to be able to share the work we've done in Canada and our goal to expand into the Indian markets." “We've also learned about how India can support us, support our expansion, the steps necessary in order to set up our businesses in India, and we are super positive about building our technology in India as well, as it's a huge growing market with a huge economy, the most populated country in the world, and there are just so many opportunities there. So very much looking forward to coming to India in the fall and expanding there," Virgovicova said. Pranav Kapuria, Managing Director, The Hi-Tech Gears, said it was a very candid conversation where a lot of opportunities between India and Canada were discussed. "There's already a lot of government-to-government and bureaucracy-to-bureaucracy work which is happening.

India and Canada are extremely complementary economies and countries, and I think I look forward to just a deeper relationship. We as a company have manufacturing facilities in Canada and India, and we already experience the value that we can add to being a globally competitive organisation,” he explained. Gabriel Miller, President and CEO of Universities Canada, said that it was really inspiring and "it's such an exciting time in the relationship between Canada and India, and here we have one of the most important leaders in the Indian government, a woman who's very, very modest, who's very, very calm, but obviously also has big, big ideas about the future of that country and is eager to be working with Canada to create jobs and opportunity for both of our countries".

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