India, Canada have potential to cooperate on critical minerals, nuclear power, and AI: Goyal

India and Canada have “tremendous potential” to work together on critical minerals, nuclear energy, and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said. This comes a day after the Prime Ministers of the two countries met at the G-20 summit and agreed to begin negotiations for a “high-ambition” Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.

“Canada and India are natural allies,” Mr. Goyal said while addressing the Indo-Canadian Business Chamber in New Delhi. “We don’t compete with each other, we actually complement each other.” 

“The strengths of Canada and the strengths of India together can become a force multiplier for businesses and investors, and I think the recent meetings that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Mark Carney have had, including the one very recently at the G-20 summit, clearly gave a direction for the future of the Canada-India relationship,” the Minister added.

During their meeting on November 23 in Johannesburg, Mr. Modi and Mr. Carney agreed to begin negotiations for a “high-ambition” Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and double the trade between the two nations by 2030, the government had said in a release following the meeting. 

“There is a lot we can learn from Canada and a lot that we can offer Canada,” Mr. Goyal emphasised. “We have tremendous potential on critical minerals, critical mineral processing technologies, there is a good potential on nuclear energy, particularly with our engagement with Canada on uranium supplies.” 

“We can diversify our supply chains, focus on emerging technologies like AI, with data centres, quantum computing, machine learning, where India has strategic benefits to offer for investors,” he added.

Mr Goyal also said that the Australia-Canada-India Technology and Innovation (ACITI) partnership should be taken forward with all seriousness. The tri-nation ACITI partnership was announced by the leaders of the three countries during the G20 summit “to enhance cooperation in critical and emerging technologies”.

“The Prime Ministers have given us a very clear direction,” Mr. Goyal said. “If we look at the earliest opportunity, in February, when we have the AI summit in India, we would love for Canadian businesses and investors to participate.”

Later in the day, Mr. Goyal also held a meeting with Victor Fedeli, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation & Trade, Canada, where they discussed strengthening Indo-Canadian trade, enhancing investment opportunities, and deepening collaboration across various sectors.