'India is rapidly rising up the priority list for Canadian companies'

India has all the potential that China had a decade ago, former Canadian foreign and defence Minister Perrin Beatty said.

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Beatty, who serves as President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said India is a high priority for Canadian businesses looking for an alternative to China. Critical minerals, renewable technologies and fertilizers will be a key focus. In an interview, Beatty also spoke of how India and Canada stand to gain from a free trade agreement, even as Ottawa seeks a pause in the FTA talks. Edited excerpts:

You’ve been in public life for 50 years. Has Canada’s understanding of India changed?

I think there’s been a dramatic change first of all, in terms of the understanding of the potential of India and the fact that India is rapidly becoming an economic and diplomatic player on the international stage in a way that it just wasn’t in the past. And that the potential here for both economic growth and for growing diplomatic presence is growing dramatically. In addition to that, because of the number of Indo-Canadians in our country, the ties of family and culture are important as well. That’s really boosted the awareness of Canadians about the importance of India and about the relevance to us as well.

How are Canadian businesses looking at India?

What we’re seeing now is that India has all of the potential that China had a decade ago or 15 years ago, and it’s on a similar trajectory in terms of economic growth and development. In addition to that, it’s a democracy. The rule of law applies here. And as the relationship with China has become more difficult in many ways for western countries, India has become that much more attractive as a consequence. India is rising up the priority list for Canadian companies and doing so very rapidly.