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Canada and India have longstanding bilateral relations, built upon shared traditions of democracy, pluralism and strong interpersonal connections with an Indian diaspora of more than one million in Canada. This expanding bilateral relationship is supported by a wide range of agreements.Political relations:India established diplomatic relations with Canada in 1947. In Canada, India is represented by the High Commission of India in Ottawa and the Consulate General of India in Toronto and Vancouver. In India, Canada is represented by the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi; the Consulates General of Canada in Bangalore, Chandigarh & Mumbai, a Consulate in Kolkata. India and Canada have longstanding bilateral relationship based on shared democratic values, pluralistic societies and strong people-to-people contacts. In recent years, both countries have been working to enhance bilateral cooperation in a number of areas of mutual importance. High level visits have taken place in recent past including at PM levels: Dr. Manmohan Singh visited Canada in 2010; Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited India in 2009 and 2012; and the Governor General David Lloyd Johnston visited India in February/March 2014. The inaugural India-Canada Strategic Dialogue was held in September 2013 co-chaired by then External Affairs Minister Shri Salman Khurshid and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. John Baird. The first India Canada Ministerial Energy Dialogue was held in Ottawa in October 2013.India and Canada pursue bilateral relations through the mechanisms of annual Foreign Office Consultations, Ministerial level Strategic Dialogue, Ministerial Level Energy Dialogue, Joint Committee on Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, Trade Policy Consultations, Economic and Financial Sector Policy Dialogue, Joint Working Group on Counter-terrorism, Science & Technology Committee, Environment Forum, Energy Forum, Steering Committee on Mining and Earth Sciences; and Joint Working Groups on ICTE, Education, Pulses, Plant Protection, Health, Agriculture and SPS issues.India and Canada have signed several agreements including the Air Services Agreement, Extradition Treaty, Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty and Agreement on Patents. In recent years both sides have signed Agreement on Cooperation in Agriculture, Agreement on Science and Technology and Environment Cooperation, Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, Social Security Agreement, and Audio-Visual Co-Production Agreement. There are MOUs on: Cooperation in Energy, Cooperation in Space, Cooperation in Mining and Earth Sciences, Cooperation in Higher Education, Cultural Cooperation, Cooperation in Intelligent Transport Systems, Cooperation in ICTE, Cooperation in the Field of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Cooperation on Global Health Challenges, and Cooperation on Skill Development. Separate MOUs on Mines and Mineral Resources have been signed with the Provinces of Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec. Department of Research & Development Organization (DRDO) has signed MOU with York University for R&D in Early Warning and Advance Response Network (E-Warn). A Social Security Agreement has also been signed with the Government of Quebec.Agreements/MOUs under negotiation are: Foreign Investment Promotion Agreement (FIPA), and Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).Trade RelationIndia Canada trade relation have flourished in spite of the fact that Canada was one of the founder members of NATO while India was not. Both countries have shared a cordial and productive trading relationship right since the days of Indian independence.After a decline in India Canada trading relations in the 1970s due to India's Peaceful Nuclear Explosion, trade between India and Canada picked up in the 1990s. In 1997, Canada started focusing on India in a big way, after the financial crisis in south east Asia. Canada then zeroed in on India intending to tap its huge trading potential. However, after India conducted nuclear tests in 1998, Canada once again went on an alert as far as its trading relations with India were concerned. But in 1999, after the Indian visit of the then Secretary of State for Asia Pacific, Raymond Chan, India Canada Trade Relations resumed once again economic alliances were agreed upon.The bilateral trade between India and Canada, at its current level, do not reflect the true potential of the commercial relationship. In the Joint Statement issued on the occasion of the State visit of Prime Minster Harper to India in November 2012, the two sides reiterated the shared desire to see the bilateral trade reach $15 billion by 2015. While the two-way bilateral trade in 2012 was US$ 5.2 billion, in 2013 it increased to over US$ 5.7 billion, registering an increase of 7.69%.[Figures in billion US Dollars.Details20072008200920102011201220132014India's Exports1.8412.0651.7542.0642.5612.8582.9822.404India's Exports1.6672.2681.8812.0242.6582.3572.7602.403Total3.5084.3333.6354.0885.2195.2155.7424.807Traded itemsSome of the main items imported by Canada from India are:♦ Textiles♦ Carpets♦ Floor spreads♦ Readymade garments♦ Jewellery♦ Cotton yarn♦ Organic chemicals♦ Coffee♦ Spices♦ Iron and steel articles♦ Rice, cereals, processed foods♦ Marine products♦ FootwearThe main items exported by Canada to India are:⇒ Peas⇒ Copper⇒ Minerals⇒ Industrial chemicals⇒ Newsprint⇒ Wood pulp⇒ Asbestos⇒ Iron scrapInvestment: The stock of two-way direct investment between India and Canada is as under:200520062007200820092010201120122013Canadian FDI in India319677506667520676655641613Indian FDI in Canada1712111,9886,5146,2174,3643,7303,8143,776The cumulative Indian FDI in Canada has been more than Canadian FDI inflows into India. Indian investment in Canada has increased steadily in the recent years, especially in the information technology, software and natural resources sectors. A Bilateral Investment Promotion Agreement is under negotiation. Canadian investors are present in the Indian banking, insurance and financial services sectors, as also in engineering and consultancy services.Science and TechnologyIn 2005, Canada and India signed an Agreement for Scientific and Technological Cooperation to foster greater bilateral S&T collaboration. The agreement was officially ratified in 2008 and is supported by the Canada-India Joint Science and Technology Cooperation Committee.During the November 2012 State Visit to India, the Prime Ministers of Canada and India tasked the Joint S&T Committee with developing an Action Plan to fortify the bilateral S&T relationship by promoting basic research, facilitating academic and industrial personnel exchanges, and accelerating technology commercialization.Prime Minister of Canada also announced the selection of the India-Canada Centre for Innovative Multidisciplinary Partnerships to Accelerate Transformation and Sustainability (IC-IMPACTS) as the winner of the Canada-India Research Centre of Excellence competition announced in Budget 2011.From 2007 to 2012, joint funding from Canada and India supported eight high quality bilateral R&D projects in priority areas such as Sustainable Environmental Technologies, Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) and Biotechnology.SecurityCanada and India maintain regular dialogues on regional security and global strategic issues of common interest through the annual Canada-India Strategic Dialogue and the Canada-India Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism, as well as the annual Foreign Policy Consultation. The newly established Foreign Minister and National Security Advisor office dialogues will further contribute in this area.Environment and EnergyThe two countries have established the Canada-India Forum for Environmental Collaboration in order to increase technology and knowledge exchange on environmental issues. Canada and India also initiated a Canada India Energy Forum following the signing of the energy Memorandum of Understanding in November 2009.Canada and India in Multilateral ForaCanada and India are also strong partners in addressing a variety of regional and international challenges. Our two countries regularly engage in dialogue to discuss our shared commitment to global peace and security. This past summer in Tokyo, Canada and India joined more than 60 other countries and 25 international organizations in pledging support to help Afghanistan become a more stable, more secure, and democratic country. As Commonwealth countries, we work together to promote democracy and respect for human rights and the rule of law, and we regularly cooperate through the UN. We have developed a partnership in the G20 by co-chairing two instrumental working groups since 2008 on the Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth and on Enhancing Sound Regulation and Strengthening Transparency.Immigration and VisasIndia is currently the third largest source country of immigrants to Canada, with a rapidly growing Indo-Canadian community estimated to be over one million.Recently, fast-track processes have been instituted to expedite processing of visas for designated business travellers and students applying to designated publicly-funded post-secondary colleges and universities in Canada. Over 99% of applications thorough the Business Express program are approved, most within two working days. Partly as a result of the Student Partners program, India was the second largest source of students destined to Canada in 2011 when 12,210 study permits were issued, more than four times the number in 2007. In an effort to reduce the frequency with which frequent travellers must apply for visas, the maximum validity of the temporary resident visa has been increased from five to ten years (subject to passport validity). A new Super visa for qualifying parents and grandparents allows for visits of up to 2 years without the need for the holder to renew status.Stakeholder InvolvementIn support of Canada’s growing engagement with India, the Government of Canada is committed to consulting regularly with all Canadian stakeholders: provinces and territories; municipalities; non-governmental organizations; the private sector; civil society and the Canadian public.Development AssistanceAfter 55 years of bilateral programming in India totalling C$2.39 billion, Canada’s bilateral development assistance program came to an end in 2006 following a change in Indian government policy regarding aid. However, Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD) continues to provide assistance to India through partnerships between Indian and Canadian NGOs and multilateral programs. In addition, the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi manages the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, to support local projects in India focusing on gender equality, human rights, and good governance.Canada Fund For Local Initiatives: For over three decades, Canada has funded modest development assistance projects in developing countries through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI). The CFLI is a program that supports small projects proposed and implemented by local NGOs and other grassroots organizations such as village councils, cooperatives and women’s groups. This enables Canada to respond to local needs by working at the community level. Equally important, the CFLI serves to strengthen Canada’s relationships with civil society and local communities and to build networks of contacts in countries around the world.Cultural relations:In view of the large Indian diaspora in Canada, there are number of local organisations promoting Indian culture, especially performing arts. The Mission in collaboration with ICCR seeks to supplement the activities of these cultural organisations. Pursuant to the announcement made by Indian and Canadian Prime Ministers in November 2009, the Year of India 2011 was organized in different cities of Canada which included multi sectoral events such as cultural shows, Writers festivals, film festivals, food festivals, trade shows, Education Summit, Innovation Summit, PBD-Canada, LKA's Moderns Exhibition, Eminent lecture series, installation of Gandhi statues and Tagore anniversary.In the Education field, the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (SICI) was founded in 1968 to promote academic exchanges mainly through funding research and linking academic institutions in the two countries. 50 universities from India and 40 from Canada are members of the Institute. Over 300 MOUs exist between Canadian and Indian higher education institutions for collaborative research and exchange programmes. The two countries have signed an MOU on High Education in June 2010 and a bilateral Education Summit was held in Ottawa in June 2011. India is the second largest source of foreign students in Canada with over 28,000 Indian students studying in different Canadian universities.ICCR has established India Chairs at 5 Canadian universities: Carleton, McGill, York, Toronto, and McMaster. India specific centres have been set up in Canadian Universities, including the Canada India Centre of Excellence at Carleton, Ottawa.Indian community:Canada is home to over one million Persons of Indian Origin. Majority of PIOs live in Greater Toronto Area, Greater Vancouver Area, Montreal and Calgary. While the majority of the community is from Punjab, other linguistic and ethnic groups of India are also represented in the diaspora.The political profile of the community has grown over the years. There are nine Indo-Canadian MPs in the House of Commons and one in the Senate. Two PIO MPs are Ministers of State in the Federal Government and one PIO MP is Parliamentary Secretary to the Foreign Minister.Prominent Indo-Canadian bodies include Canada India Business Council (CIBC), Canada India Foundation (CIF), Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (I-CCC) and other local chambers and association