Toronto, Ontario
Thanks for the introduction, Akshay Kumar, it's good to see you again. When we were in Mumbai last year, we certainly appreciated what you did for us in promoting Vancouver's Winter Olympics Games.
Prime Minister Singh, Mrs. Kaur, ministers and parliamentary colleagues, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:
It is a very great pleasure actually, to welcome Prime Minister Singh and Mrs. Kaur, because we economists don't often get to pat each other on the back in public. Let me tell you why I would want to say a few celebratory things about Prime Minister Singh. Actually, it's quite a story.
We all understand, I think, that by any measure India today is a very different country from what it was 20 years ago. It is, in fact, well on the way to becoming an economic superpower. What that means, in real terms of course, is that hundreds of millions of people are now very much better off than they used to be.
It also means that in the counsels of the world - the G20 for example - the Indian voice,
Prime Minister Singh's voice, speaks with the authority that comes from knowledge, wisdom and experience. In particular, the experience during the 1990s of the liberation of the Indian economy from a system of licensed, state-controlled production that discouraged enterprise and encouraged bureaucracy.
These critical market reforms, ladies and gentlemen, were primarily the inspiration of Prime Minister Singh, first an economist, then a finance minister, now a prime minister on his second mandate. Sir, your country's success today is a tribute to ingenuity and perseverance. But, it is also a tribute to good policy.
Maybe it's just an economist thing, but I think we both believe, Prime Minister, that ideas have consequences. The consequence of your enlightened ideas was that a stale command economy was transformed, releasing the energy and enterprise of a most industrious nation, with remarkable results. For an economist, I cannot think of a more enviable professional accomplishment than, to not only witness the vindication of one's ideas, but to be the vindicator who translates them into political reality! Prime Minister, I would say that few practitioners of the dismal science could have more reason than yourself for euphoria!
All of which leads me to say, ladies and gentlemen, that the economic philosophy of the new India is a welcome addition to the lengthy list of principles and traditions our countries share. As I have said before, we are both countries that have forged cohesive, pluralistic societies from ethnically, spiritually and linguistically diverse populations.
We are both inheritors of the centuries-old and proven traditions of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy, to which we have adapted the ingenuity of federalism to accommodate our vast regional differences. We are both free societies, that venerate freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of worship, freedom of trade. In all things, freedom is our inheritance, and the means of our success.
And sadly, and for the same reasons, both of our countries bear the scars of terrorism, and now make common cause against it, most notably in Afghanistan.
We are also joined by ties of family. More than one million of India's sons and daughters enrich the life of our country, in every important area of national endeavour: the arts, literature, business, politics.
And, we have in common economic strength, such that our two great countries have weathered the recession better than most.
Indeed, our economies complement each other in so many ways, that the low level of trade between us seems unnatural - a mere four billion dollars last year, for two countries with a combined GDP of four trillion. That's something we must change.
That is why we have opened three new trade offices and increased our presence in existing missions to help Canadian businesses get ahead in the Indian market.
India offers spectacular growth, has impressive scientific and technological capacities, and an increasingly liberal investment regime.
We are hopeful, therefore, that we shall soon secure a Foreign Investment and Promotion and Protection Agreement.
Meanwhile, Canada's economic fundamentals are the envy of the G8, thanks to our strong financial sector and to our consistent efforts to reduce taxes and debt.
And we too have a liberal investment climate, as well as a wealth of resources in which to invest.
As such, our two countries have the foundations for an enduring friendship, and a basis upon which to expand trade exponentially, in both directions.
That is why, since taking office in 2006, our government has made it a priority to revitalize Canada's relationship with the great nation of India. That has involved ministerial-level visits, fifteen just since 2007. And of course, Laureen and I had the wonderful experience of visiting India last year, where we were delighted, overwhelmed even, with the warmth of that country's hospitality. We have also opened the trade offices to which I referred earlier, creating one of the most extensive such networks that Canada maintains anywhere in the world.
We are partnering in the areas of science and technology, including green technology.
And our two countries have now signed a bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement.
I am also encouraged by the signing of several Memoranda of Understanding during this visit for mining and earth sciences, for example, on cultural cooperation to encourage exchanges in the areas of literature, the arts and archaeology, and on higher education, where we hope to further develop already fertile linkages between our academic sectors.
But, I will not detain this audience with an exhaustive list of what we are doing, or what must be done, to fully develop the untapped potential of deeper ties between our two countries. We have highly qualified and motivated officials on both sides, who think of nothing else and who have just presented us with the final report on how we might proceed with a comprehensive economic partnership agreement.
Moving forward on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement we view this as a critical step in developing a full strategic partnership. So Prime Minister, the evidence suggests that we are at a transformative stage in our relationship. We are good friends and partners. But we could be better friends and partners.
Let me conclude, therefore, with this thought. The recent interaction between our two countries, our government officials and our political leadership, has convinced me of this:
The road to the future for both India and Canada could carry much more traffic, if we continue to work on building the bridges.
Prime Minister, this is the first bilateral visit of a sitting Prime Minister of India to Canada in 37 years. It has been a great occasion. And we all wish you and Mrs Kaur, and your entire delegation, a safe and pleasant journey home, and a quick return for many more such visits in the future.