Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the Canadian capital of Ottawa last 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.
PM Modi is the first Indian prime minister in over 42 years to visit Canada, which has a sizeable Indian community. Apart from interactions with Indians – a public welcome in Toronto is billed to be on the lines of his famous Madison Square address in New York last year – the PM’s three-day visit will aim at securing a deal for the import of uranium and improving visa facilities for Indo-Canadians.
As he did in Europe, PM Modi will also 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 dollars, 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,” External Affairs Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said soon after PM Modi’s arrival in Canada.
The PM will hold talks with his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper to discuss how the relationship can be taken forward. “We expect substantive outcomes,” Mr 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.
PM Modi will 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.
The PM returns home on Friday.