Ottawa: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the Canadian capital of Ottawa on Tuesday night, on the last leg of his three nation tour, after a visit to Europe’s big powerhouses France and Germany, where he pitched his Make in India agenda.
Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister in over 42 years to visit Canada, which has a sizeable Indian community. Modi, on his arrival, was received by Indian High Commissioner to Canada Vishnu Prakash.
Besides meeting with the political leadership, Modi will be addressing the Indian diaspora, in a “Madison Square-like” event where a large turnout is expected. Modi’s visit will aim at securing a deal for the import of uranium and improving visa facilities for Indo-Canadians.
The Prime Minister will meet and address Canadian business leaders to invite investments. He will meet with top officials of Canada’s Pension Fund, which has a corpus of $200 million, and discuss how to ease investment opportunities for it.
“It is a historic milestone in our bilateral ties as in 42 years, this is the first standalone bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister. Therefore, we are focused on setting a trajectory which will reflect in the discussions,” MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said soon after PM Modi’s arrival in Canada.
Later in the day, Modi will hold talks with his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper to discuss how the relationship can be taken forward.
“We expect substantive outcomes,” Akbaruddin said, adding that the focus of talks will be on areas like energy, agriculture, skill development and education. He said the two leaders will also discuss a common approach to security issues.
On one hand India sees Canada as an important partner in fulfilling its developmental needs and expects the visit to impart new vigour in bilateral relations. Canada, on the other hand, is closely following the opportunities emerging from India’s massive urbanization, infrastructure development and planned smart cities.
Canada’s Cameco Corp, one of the world’s biggest uranium producers, has been holding talks with Indian government officials for a long term supply arrangement.
Modi will also visit Toronto and Vancouver, apart from Ottawa.
Before winding up his visit, he will also visit the Air India Memorial to pay tributes to those killed in the Kanishka bombing, three decades ago.
Earlier, Modi while leaving Berlin has said: “I leave Germany with great satisfaction… this visit will strengthen the India-Germany ties.â€