Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived in New Delhi yesterday on an eight-day visit at the invitation of his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.
“Strategic partnership underpinned by shared values of democracy and pluralism! Namaste to the Right Honorable @JustinTrudeau, Prime Minister of Canada as he arrives on the state visit to India from 17-24 February, 2018,” External Affairs Ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar tweeted.
The visit is aimed at further strengthening relations between the two countries in key areas of mutual interest, trade and investment, energy, science and innovation, higher education, infrastructure development, skill development and space, a ministry statement said.
Co-operation in security and counter-terrorism as well as exchange of views on global and regional issues of mutual interest will also form important components of the visit.
Canada is also home to around 1.4mn people of Indian origin.
Modi will hold bilateral talks with Trudeau on February 23 following which a number of agreements are expected to be signed.
Two-way trade between Canada and India amounts to only about $8bn annually - a number Trudeau hopes to improve. He has multiple meetings planned with Indian CEOs and business leaders during his visit.
“Given all the changes that are taking place in the world, India and Canada are the right partners for each other, and I think the trade agreement and the investment agreement that have been in the works for quite a bit are now headed toward a conclusion,” said Harry Sharma, who runs Carleton University’s Canada-India Centre of Excellence.
The trip comes nearly three years after Modi visited Canada in April 2015. The last visit of a Canadian prime minister to India was in November 2012.
During the course of his stay in India, Trudeau will also visit Agra, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Amritsar.