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A roundtable on the theme: CEPA and Beyond: Canada-India Partnership in Agriculture and Food Processing was jointly organized by Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) and Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (SICI) with support from University of Regina and Ministry of the Economy (ECON), Government of Saskatchewan, at the University of Regina on Friday, October 11, 2013.
At the roundtable ICCC was represented by its President Naval Bajaj and Ambassador (Retd.) Kant K. Bhargava, Honorary Advisor of ICCC. Shastri Indo Canadian Institute was represented by Dr. Shanthi Johnson, President SICI and Dr. Braj M. Sinha, a Former President of SICI and Professor, University of Saskatchewan.
The Regina roundtable brought together a mix of representatives from business, academia, and government. Hon’ble Bidhu Jha, Special Envoy for International Trade, Government of Manitoba; Mr. Robert Donald, Executive Director, Intergovernmental Affairs, Trade Policy, Government of Saskatchewan; and Ms. Jennifer Evancio, Senior Director, Trade Development, Agri-Value, Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership (STEP); addressed the Plenary Session which was moderated by Kant K. Bhargava, Honorary Advisor, ICCC, and Dr. Braj Sinha, Former President of SICI.
A background note was made available to all roundtable participants on agriculture and food processing. The two sub-groups had comprehensive discussions on:
- The role of governments, business and industry for building partnership in agriculture and food processing and for promoting food and nutrition security
- Strengthening cooperation in agriculture research and biotechnology: Interface between academia, industry, business and government
The need for more effective and sustained actions in these two areas was highlighted by the participants.
In his address, President ICCC emphasized the stellar role that Saskatchewan has in Canada-India trade. “There cannot be a better venue than Regina to discuss agriculture – a sector that dominates bilateral trade between Canada and India. And as everyone here would know, of all the Canadian provinces, Saskatchewan has the most extensive trade relations with India. Till about five years ago, nearly 45% of Canada’s total exports to India came from Saskatchewan, with agricultural goods such as potash, peas, lentils and chickpeas at the top of the list,” Bajaj said.
He also made a powerpoint presentation to all participants on India Mission 2014 that would be led by ICCC in January 2014 and will be focusing on agriculture, education and energy. You may download the presentation here: India Mission 2014. He invited interested participants from Saskatchewan to join this mission.
The roundtable at Regina was part of ICCC’s ongoing project called The Future of Canada-India Relations: Unlocking the Full Potential. The main purpose of this project is to examine how best the growing resources, and the potential of the Indo-Canadian community can be harnessed in the progression of bilateral relations especially in the economic field. Chanchlani Foundation is the main sponsor of the project.
Pivoted by ICCC, the project seeks to focus on the development of business networks especially for small businesses, educational linkages, science and innovation, biotechnology, energy, agriculture, mining and medicine.
ICCC is collaborating with a number of business, trade and academic institutions for this project including the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (SICI), Calgary; the HEC Montreal, Montreal; the Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University (PDPU), Gandhinagar; iNDEXTb, Gandhinagar; the World Trade Centre, Bengaluru; Confederation of Indian Industries and the India Canada Business Chamber, Delhi; among others.
Prior to the Regina one, roundtables have been held in Toronto, Montreal, and Delhi & Bengaluru. The next roundtable is scheduled in Ottawa on November 19.
The President of ICCC, Naval Bajaj, had a 40-minutes meeting with Hon’ble Lyle Stewart, Minister of Agriculture, Government of Saskatchewan. Dr. Shanthi Johnson, President SICI and Ambassador (Retd.) Kant K. Bhargava accompanied him. Views were exchanged on strengthening bilateral trade and investment in this important sector.
A joint report is being prepared by ICCC and SICI and will be disseminated to all concerned opinion, policy and decision makers. You may access the report of the proceedings of the earlier roundtables here: Project site
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