Justin Trudeau in India updates: Canadian PM meets Devendra Fadnavis, discusses investment, cultural ties

MEA refers to Canadian side as 'Iranian' on its official website

Committed to building friendship with Canadian-based with Indian community: Modi

"We are committed to building friendliness with the Canadian-based Indian community and seeking active participation in India's progress. India-Canada is a natural partnership of shared values. I hope to have more robust partnership between the two countries and the bright future of our two countries."

Six MoUs signed between Canada and India

Canada looks to diversify its own economy: Justin Trudeau

Will not tolerate those who try to divide country, says Modi

India is a trusted friend: Trudeau

"As Canada looks to do business beyond borders, India is a natural partner and trusted friend in commercial operations," says Justin Trudeau. 

'Talked about how to come together to benefit both Indians and Canada': Trudeau

"I thank Prime Minister Modi for his warm reception here. We share, not only a rich history, but a natural friendship between the two nations. I'm glad to say we wrapped up a productive meeting and discussed mutual interests. 

First, talked about how to come together to benefit both Indians and Canada."

'People-to-people interaction is the bedrock of India-Canada relations,' says Modi

Terrorism, extremism threats to pluralistic societies: Modi

"We have agreed to strengthen our security cooperation. Terrorism and extremism are threats to democratic, pluralistic societies like India and Canada. It is important to come together to combat these."

'Those challenging the sovereignty, unity and integrity of our countries cannot even be tolerated': Modi

'Happy you visited with your family'

MoUs on education, trade and investment exchanged between India and Canada

Narendra Modi-Justin Trudeau to deliver their joint statement shortly

Justin Trudeau and Narendra Modi discuss trade, investment at delegation-level talks

'Stop trying so hard': Indians to Justin Trudeau

Visuals of Indian, Canadian media waiting for Modi-Trudeau's joint statement

'New momentum in relationship!' 

India-Canada ties show signs of tension since Justin Trudeau began his India trip

Images of Narendra Modi and Justin Trudeau at Hyderabad House

Delegation-level talks are underway at the moment. 

Delegation-level talks to take place at 12.30 pm

WATCH: Narendra Modi meets Canadian PM Justin Trudeau at Hyderabad House

Justin Trudeau and Narendra Modi meet at Hyderabad House

Modi-Trudeau meet next on agenda

At 12 pm, Justin Trudeau is scheduled to meet Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House.

More visuals from Justin Trudeau's meet with Sushma Swaraj

Justin Trudeau meets Sushma Swaraj, discuss ways to strengthen partnership

More images of Justin Trudeau meeting Narendra Modi at Rashtrapati Bhavan

Harsimrat Badal urges Justin Trudeau to launch Amritsar-Toronto flights

WATCH: Justin Trudeau pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat

Is Justin Trudeau's trip a total disaster?

Journalist who protested Narendra Modi's 2015 Canada visit is part of Justin Trudeau's delegation visiting India

Trudeau to head to Rajghat next

Following his official welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau will move to the Rajghat next, where he will lay a wreath at Mahatma Gandhi's memorial.

WATCH: Canada PM Justin Trudeau meets Indian delegation

WATCH: Narendra Modi hugs Justin Trudeau, welcomes family in New Delhi 

Visuals of Trudeau at the Guard of Honour ceremony

Narendra Modi welcomes Justin Trudeau and his family at Rashtrapati Bhavan

The Canadian prime minister was welcomed with a Guard of Honour, with the Canadian and Indian national anthems played in the background. This is the first engagement for the day for Trudeau's schedule. 

It will take combined charm of PMs to mitigate bad vibes

But those (Canada's) linkages (with Khalistan), frowned upon by New Delhi, could have escaped too much scrutiny if those who had scheduled Trudeau's visit had listened to India and ensured he stopped early in the National Capital for the government-to-government dialogue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Instead, they opted to have him gallivant across the country — from Agra to Ahmedabad and Mumbai to Amritsar. In that period, people noticed Modi had not welcomed him with his trademark tweet (something he eventually did on Thursday, on the eve of their meeting), and the story of the 'snub' went global.

As the two prime ministers finally meet at Hyderabad House in New Delhi at noon, something could still be salvaged out of this magnified mess. And the relationship between India and Canada is far too significant to allow it to be reflected in the buildup to that bilateral summit. But it will take the combined charm of Trudeau and Modi to elevate the public conversation over the debris left by the disaster so far.

Justin Trudeau responds to Modi's tweet, says his daughter remembers his visit well

Modi's meet comes a day after controversy over Khalistani leader's invitation with Trudeau

Justin Trudeau's schedule for the day:

9 am - Official greeting ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan

9.30 am - Wreath laying ceremony at Rajghat

10.15 am - Trudeau to meet External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj

12 pm - Meet Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House

12.30 pm - Ministers of Canadian cabinet to hold expanded bilateral talks with Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House

1.15 pm - Exchange of agreements and deliver remarks with Narendra Modi

2.45 pm - Participate in a roundtable with Chief Executive Officers at Taj Diplomatic Enclave Hotel

5 pm - Meet President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan

​6.30 pm - Will hold media availability at Taj Diplomatic Enclave Hotel

Modi reminisces 2015 meeting with Trudeau, tweets photo 

Modi looks forward to meeting Trudeau

Narendra Modi to meet Justin Trudeau today

With questions raised over his silence so far ever since Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau's arrival in India on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday evening welcomed him on his visit and said that he looked forward to meeting him on Friday.

Updates for 23 January, 2018 begin here

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau meets Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai

At a time when the world is turning away from trade, we are proud to be signing trade agreements, Trudeau says

When Kochhar asked Trudeau's thoughts on trade agreements, he said, "I worry about the impact of trade on globalisation. At a time when the world is turning away from trade, we are proud to be signing trade agreements. We know that trade leads to growth. But if we're are able to keep public support for the trade agreements. We ensure that small traders get benefits for these trade deals."

He also emphasised the ease of doing business in Canada, "Companies can get visas within two weeks. Openness to international talent is a positive advantage in the world trade." 

"Same goes for immigration," he added. "Canada is opening up for immigration. One complaint we get is that we are not getting enough immigration," Trudeau said about Canada's stance on immigration. 

'US' problems with H1B visas an opportunity for Canada'

Patricia Koval, the chairperson of the C-IBC, has complimented India for easing visa regulations and said Canada must do likewise. "US' visa renewal issues are a huge opportunity. I do think India has made fabulous drives on the visa system. Canada now needs to step up and facilitating the transfer of visas," Koval said.

Educational ties, job creation key areas of collaboration

Patricia Koval, chairperson of C-IBC, spoke about creating more business exchange opportunities. "We have strong educational ties between Canada and India. In terms of job creations, there's huge benefits in collaborative programmes," she said.

Risk appetite needs to be enhanced, says Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, the chairperson of Biocon Limited, said both India and Canada have plenty of skill and talent. "We've to build a technology corridor between India and Canada. The US has created a good ecosystem with that. The risk appetite created in the US needs to be re emulated in other countries.

Risk sharing can be an interesting model and both in India and Canada can look at that area for getting new innovative ideas to these market. E-commerce is disrupting the world everywhere. Bangalore has a lot of innovation happening and so have many Canadian cities. So I'd suggest the creation of a technology corridor between the two countries. We should be focusing on technology diplomacy," she said.

Panel to discuss ways of improving India-Canada bilateral trade

India-Canada trade is worth just $8 billion, just a minor fraction of the $100 billion trade between India and the US, Jaspal Bindra, executive chairman of Centrum, said. "The purpose of the CEO panel is to find better business opportunities that can be explored between the two countries," Bindra said.

Canada has done a lot to promote science, says Kristy Duncan, minister for science

Kirsty Duncan, minister for science and sport in the Canadian government, recalls it being a difficult time for woman scientists to break through in a male-dominated field like science. "It's an honour to be in India. I'm here to build on the strong ties between India and Canada. Science is the backbone of innovation. We can think of collaboration on artificial intelligence, healthcare, innovation, etc. Canada started funding AI by the 90s and we kept funding sciences as it matters. Now it's become mainstream. Everyone knows about Silicon Valley, but there's also Maple Valley."

India-Canada collaboration in education sector

Devang Khakar, director of IIT Bombay, said, "We've collaborated with Canadian universities. There are a lot of exchange programmes. We are also building a large number of collaborations with Canadian universities. There are a lot of joint research projects going on. We are keen to build a special relationship with the University of Toronto. There's a great potential to learn a lot."

Indians increasingly interested in entrepreneurship, says IIT-B director

Devang Khakar, director of IIT-Bombay, spoke of the growing interest in entrepreneurship. "Twenty years ago, there wasn't much interest in entrepreneurship. But now many are either starting their own companies or working with start-ups. Now there's more focus towards doing innovative things in areas which were unthinkable in the past. For instance, some of our graduates have worked on something as old as ceiling fans and have won patents for their design. Students are thinking of entrepreneurship from the beginning. We also have a workshop for students in entrepreneurship. I think that this is a trend that is very strong. A lot of support is coming from outside, senior alumni are coming back to start their own companies."

Companies that they've incubated have created over 3,000 jobs, Khakar said. "These new companies are nimble enough to find out needs that are yet to be fulfilled and are coming up with innovative solutions for these issues. They're not just making copycat products but something innovative," he added.

Canada a hot destination for Indian students

David Agnew, president of Toronto's Seneca College, spoke in glowing terms about the higher educational possibilities in Canada for Indian students. "According to Canadian system, we are a college offering diploma and degrees. We have 25,000 full-time students and 10 campuses in the Greater Toronto area. Internationalisation of education is a big topic and we are still a big receiver of international students. In all, 125,000 students from India are studying in Canada. We are focused on developing partnerships in India," Agnew said.

India and Canada can work on IT sector, says Amarjeet Sohi

"IT companies are of particular interest. We want to see how we can help with Smart City challenges of major urban centres. Problems of transportation, social laws, etc. If we partner wet can find innovative solutions to these issues. The way the challenges work is we call municipality's to identify problems and then tech is used to solve these problems. We then fund viable projects. This is something that is inspired by Indian Smart City challenges," says Sohi. 

Input from Nimish Sawant, Tech2

Amarjeet Sohi a Khalistan sympathiser?

Trudeau-Modi share similar values on economic growth: Sohi

"Economic growth is on the top agenda of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Growth that helps everyone as businesses and individuals. The same values are also shared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi," says Sohi. 

Input from Nimish Sawant, Tech2

Immense opportunities in Canada, says Sohi

"Every time I come to India it gives me an opportunity to reflect on the time when I was a young man and went to Canada and built my life there. The opportunities Canada has to offer is immense. 1.4 million Indian-Canadians have a strong bond of culture and values," says Amarjeet Sohi, cabinet minister of Canada. 

Input from Nimish Sawant, Tech2

Amarjeet Sohi of Trudeau cabinet speaks at the event

Input from Nimish Sawant, Tech2

RECAP: Justin Trudeau and his family visited Akshardham Temple in Gandhinagar

Banking sector more regulated than other industries, feels SBI executive

"Banking is getting thoroughly regulated than any other industries. Govt policies between the two countries effects business, but the host country regulator is important. The cost of compliance is driving financial institutes out of business. If we drive these businesses out of business, they're not going to stop doing business but will operate in shadows which is not good," says Siddharth Sengupta of SBI.

Input from Nimish Sawant, Tech2

'Need to find India's policy perspective on food security'

"I won't day what is the final price of pulses in India. But what I do know is that trade will help food security in India. What we need to find is the Indian policy perspective on Indian farmers and consumers and find the point of connection for global trade," Gordon Bacon, CEO, Pulse Canada. 

Input from Nimish Sawant, Tech2

Will SBI go from 6 branches to 60?

"We won't go that big anytime soon as banks does not need physical braches. We need to make a transition from 'brick and mortar' to 'Click and mortar'. We want to have a branch in Calgary region. The diaspora evolves over time and we've to be relevant to this. What are he kind of values we can bring to the consumer is what's important," says Siddharth Sengupta of SBI. 

Input from Nimish Sawant, Tech2

India has biggest impact on global pulse market, says Gordon Bacon of Pulse Canada

Prospects of doing business in india is favourable, says Rita-Rose Gagne of Ivanhoe Cambridge

"Prospect of doing business in India had been particularly favorable as the legal process is similar to Canadian common law. English language proficiency is a helping factor. Strong local partners are also important. GST and other reforms have given a more transparent and stable environment which helps us. We invest based on trends, are active in residential projects and so on. Lessons learnt in the last ten years is that you've to be patient. India presents a high growth potential along the Aasian markets," says Rita-Rose Gagne of Ivanhoe Cambridge. 

Input from Nimish Sawant, Tech2

First panel discussion on Indo-Canadian trade ties begins

Rontu Basu, Siddhartha Sengupta, Kashmira Mevavala, Rita Rose-Gagne, Gordon Bacon (Right to Left)

Input from Nimish Sawant, Tech2

Differences have to be source of strength in society: Trudeau
   

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday that heterogeneous society is the new reality of the 21st century and the biggest challenge is to understand how differences can become a source of strength, "something that India and Canada have done fairly well".

Calling himself a "feminist", Trudeau also said "we as a society are underperforming" as women are not being given an opportunity to contribute to their full potential. He was addressing students at the prestigious Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A).

Canadian-Indian Business Council CEO Kasi Rao inaugurates event 

Input from Nimish Sawant, Tech2

Candian-Indian Business Council CEO Kasi Rao hails bilateral relations

"SME has been the backbone of our 40 year collaboration. There are lot of untapped areas which need to be focussed on. 130 Indian companies were brought to Canada to increase bilateral trade. Today's forum is focused on building strong relationships between Indian and Canadian companies. Canada-India foundation also completed 10 years. It was formed to clarify public policy issues between the two countries. They've also pioneered the work of connecting the diaspora," said Kasi Rao, CEO of Canadian-Indian Business Council. 

Inputs from Nimish Sawant, Tech2

Canada-India Mumbai Business Forum begins

The Indo-Canadian Business Chambers will be hosting the business forum where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is also expected to participate in an armchair discussion along with veteran banker Chanda Kocchar at 3 pm. 

Justin Trudeau also met with Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani on Monday

Justin Trudeau reached Mumbai on Monday evening

Trudeau to meet industry leaders today in Mumbai

Updates for 20 February 2018 begin

Justin Trudeau to meet Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh on 21 February in Amritsar

A few highlights from the interaction

Media is frustrating at times but it's essential to empower and support it: Trudeau

I had advantage but I didn't go near discrimination, sexism that women go through daily: Trudeau

Cynicism is worrisome, says Trudeau

Trudeau says that cynicism is spreading across the world and the way people easily draw lines along communities is deeply worrisome. Hope is important and can usher growth, cynicism telling voting is uncool doesn't, the Canadian PM says.

Canada always has had a robust immigration system, says Trudeau

Talking about the robust immigration system in Canada, Trudeau says, "More countries need to do more to welcome immigrants not because that is the right thing to do, because refugees who flee the persecution in their country for a better life in another, are extremely grateful to the country that welcomes them. They work very hard and contribute tremendously to the growth of the country that welcomed them. That is the Canadian story."

Trudeau says Canadians are always excited at the prospect of trade

Idea of ideal citizen does not rest on surface attributes, says Trudeau

The idea of ideal citizen does not just rest on surface attributes like ethnicity or racism, it is more dependent on shared values that a society subscribes to, says Trudeau. He adds that young people tend to get that kind of openness and they understand how defined you are in your choices.

Trudeau talks of sexism that women face on daily basis

No statement on how a man looks is not even an eyelash-worthy of the kind of sexism that women have to face everyday in various ways, says Trudeau in response to how people commented on his nice hair when he was campaigning. 

Canadian PM says he is a feminist and gender balance is a smart choice

If you think that men and women should get equal opportunities, you are a feminist, it is that simple, says Trudeau. He goes onto explain that gender balance in terms of opportunities isn't the right thing to do but the smart thing to do in terms of growth. 

Citizens know when someone is trying to live up to some lofty familial expectation: Trudeau

Trudeau says Donald Trump and he are similar in more ways than one

While saying that US president Donald Trump shares similarities with him, Justin Trudeau says their policies are doing well for their economy. Both have an optimistic approach towards the future of investment, he added.

Climate change is essential and Canada has to take the lead: Trudeau

"Canada has enough fossil fuel resources to not be bothered about climate change but that's not the right path. It is important to take oil resources to market at a reasonable price. It's important to find a middle ground and move ahead in a responsible way,"Trudeau tells IIM Ahmedabad students. 

My choice to enter politics wasn't just dynastic, says Trudeau

The potential path I was taking going into politics was entirely my own, not necessarily my father's. The decision was because I had to say certain things to the masses, not just because it was dynastic politics. Politics is unpleasant in certain ways and incredibly rewarding in other ways. Familial expectations isn't a way to be successful in politics. 

Justin Trudeau begins his interview at IIM Ahmedabad

Justin Trudeau to interact with IIM Ahmedabad students shortly

Trudeau to visit Mumbai, Amritsar and New Delhi after winding up Ahmedabad leg

Justin Trudeau will participate in several business roundtables to further promote bilateral trade and investment 

Justin Trudeau signs the register at Ahmedabad's Sabarmati Ashram

The Canadian prime minister wrote: "A beautiful place of peace, humility and truth, that is as needed today as it ever was."

Trudeau calls Akshardham temple an extraordinary place of peace

Justin Trudeau snubbed by Narendra Modi? Too soon to say, because Indian PM has thus far stuck to protocol

Yogi Adityanath's refusal to meet Trudeau ahead of the Canadian prime minister's Taj Mahal visit and the uncertainty surrounding whether or not there will be a meeting with Captain Amarinder Singh notwithstanding, it's too early to call what Modi did (or didn't do) a snub. We'll need to wait at least until the duo finally meets in New Delhi.

Justin Trudeau to speak before students at IIM-A

Schedule for Justin Trudeau's visit to Gujarat on Monday

0830 hrs: Emplane for Ahmedabad

1005 hrs: Arrival in Ahmedabad. Will attend a programme in the city

1710 hrs: Emplane for Mumbai

1830 hrs: Arrive Mumbai

Justin Trudeau's India visit could bolster ties, but Canadian PM's courting of Khalistani elements is causing bitterness

What has caused concern, even annoyance in New Delhi is the Canadian prime minister and his party’s hobnobbing with some who are seen as Khalistani elements. For instance, New Delhi’s hackles were raised in April last year after the Ontario legislature passed a private member’s bill — it was moved by Harinder Malhi and she belongs to Trudeau’s party — that described the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as a "genocide".

Narendra Modi will not meet Trudeau today

NDTV reported that Narendra Modi is not in Gujarat today and will not meet the Canadian PM today.

More visuals of the Trudeau family at the Sabarmati Ashram

Justin Trudeau and his family at the Sabarmati Ashram

Justin Trudeau arrives in Gujarat