The India-Canada CEO Forum was marked by a renewed sense of optimism and momentum, with business leaders from both countries emphasizing what they call a “new chapter” in bilateral ties spanning sectors including artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and defence.
Echoing the tone set by the Prime Ministers of both countries, participants described the engagement as a relaunch of relations, with a strong focus on trade agreements, bilateral investments and measurable results. The Indo-Canada CEO Forum, held here in the national capital, witnessed the participation of both Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Mark Carney.
Dheeraj Jain, Founder and Chairman of Redcliffe Labs, highlighted the shared vision driving the partnership.
“Our ideas are very aligned, and I think our values are very aligned. We have to see continued growth in each of these sectors. But I think it looks very optimistic today, at least…” he added, reflecting the broader sentiment at the forum.
Gopi John, Founder and CEO, Techversant Infotech, noted the recent progress in the relationship. John said the past few months have been great and the relationship is improving, and governments support that.
“Certainly, we expect a huge improvement in sales, and certainly India and Canada can be very good partners in IT and maybe AI and quantum technologies and everything…” Gopi John noted.
Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), identified the key areas of discussion. “…We talked a lot about bilateral investment opportunities and investments in India. Today, India is attracting a lot of investments in different areas. Thirdly, a very interesting area that came up was how to get Indian states and Canadian provinces to work with each other. And fourthly, a very quick conclusion of the EPA and EPA. Fifthly, a number of areas from defense to agriculture, where we talked about cooperation. So it was just an extraordinary beginning and relaunching of the relationship…”.
Girish Tanti, co-founder and vice chairman of Suzlon Energy Limited, described the engagement as a turning point. “What has been largely concluded today is that this is the beginning of a new chapter between the two countries. We are reigniting the relationship. This is the beginning of the new journey. We will follow up with a similar CEO forum in Canada in the future, and the two countries have agreed to set the pace for developing our trade agreement going forward…” he said.
Vijay Ram Nakra, President, Agricultural Equipment Business, Mahindra & Mahindra, emphasized the systematic follow-up. “We also had an opportunity to debrief the two Prime Ministers on the topics that we talked about, and with all the support that we got from the Indian Investment Institute and the Canadian Business Forum, the two countries together with the support from them will move forward to identify smaller working groups so that we can move forward on this agenda, sign the agreement between the two countries and also look at how we can partner in terms of bilateral investment between the two countries in the future,” he said.
Richa Hokumchand, Founder and CEO of Pramatra Space, crafted the partnership in the context of global uncertainty. “This is the beginning of a new era where, given the kind of trade uncertainty that is happening globally, building resilience and building partnerships with countries, especially with Canada, will build a sustainable and innovative economic future for our country…,” she noted.
Indra Kumar, Chairman and Managing Director, Avanti Feeds Limited, emphasized on technology integration. “The Prime Minister has said it very well. The cooperation between India and Canada is going really well. The cooperation between the technology that Canada has and the capabilities that India has together will go a long way. For the food processing sector and food safety for the people, it will help a lot,” he said.
Goldie Hyder, CEO and president of the Business Council of Canada, emphasized the role of industry. “It shows alignment, but I also strongly believe in what Prime Minister Modi said that at the end of the day, the role of governments is to build the policy infrastructure, the infrastructure to enable trade from a policy perspective. But ultimately, it’s the companies that need to cross, to cross that bridge, and we’re excited about what’s happening here in India but also in Canada, where we certainly welcome Indian capital…,” he said.
Preeti Bajaj, CEO and MD, Luminous Power Technologies, has identified clean energy as a priority. “One area of focus that emerged was clean energy and technology and looking specifically at what is possible in battery energy storage systems from a supply chain standpoint as well as product formulation and technology innovation perspective, including innovative financial business models, was one of the key areas we discussed today. If I had to sum up the day as a whole, with a bird’s-eye view, I would say there are three elements that sum it up. One is the partnership, the second is the platform, and finally, it’s really about performance. Focusing on measurable outcomes is the time and impact of this comprehensive agreement,” she said. The real impact on the economy is something we are all looking forward to…”
Saurabh Agarwal, Chairman and Managing Director, Farm Native Group, cited ambitious bilateral business targets of US$50 billion by 2030.
He pointed out, “…in the field of agriculture, nuclear energy, clean energy, and in the field of artificial intelligence, we were looking for cooperation with our Canadian counterpart in the field of agriculture and health care…”
Rajat Verma, CEO of the India-Canada CEO Forum, summed up, “I think we are very optimistic about the trade partnership. The two Prime Ministers have set the tone very well. I think this is the beginning of India-Canada 2.0. We hope that this partnership will be operationalized by industry. The government can set the framework and policy, but it is up to the industry to go and establish a real strategic partnership.”
