Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, said India sees considerable scope for collaboration with Canada in critical minerals, mineral processing technologies, clean energy, nuclear energy and supply-chain diversification.
While addressing the Indo-Canadian Business Chamber, he said India offers strong advantages in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, machine learning and next-generation data centres, supported by the world’s largest annual pool of STEM graduates.
He noted that Canada and India are natural allies whose complementary strengths create significant opportunities for businesses and investors in both countries.
Minister Goyal underlined that India’s national power grid of 500 GW, including 250 GW of clean energy capacity, provides the resilience required for AI-driven infrastructure.
He noted that India’s ambition to double clean energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030 positions the country as a trusted and sustainable partner, and that India is among the few democracies capable of offering genuine 24-hour clean energy at globally competitive rates.
During his address, the Minister also highlighted India’s strong economic fundamentals, stating that the country has moved from the “Fragile Five” to being among the world’s top five economies.
He reiterated that India is expected to become the world’s third-largest economy in the next 2–2.5 years, supported by low inflation, a strong banking system, high foreign exchange reserves, robust infrastructure expansion and a vibrant capital market.
He further noted that India’s stock market has grown nearly four-and-a-half times in the last 11 years, reflecting investor confidence in the Indian economy.
Minister Goyal proposed a five-pronged approach to further strengthen India–Canada relations.
He emphasised the need to convert dialogue into delivery through actionable outcomes, sectoral roadmaps and measurable progress, and called for revitalising the CEO Forum to enhance business-to-business partnerships and urged Canadian participation in India’s upcoming AI Summit.
He encouraged joint innovation, noting India’s strong IPR regime, large datasets and cost-effective innovation environment, supported by the recently announced USD 12 billion fund for research and development.
“Both the countries should identify focused areas of collaboration, including critical minerals, clean energy, aerospace, defence and manufacturing under the Make in India programme,” he said.