New Delhi, March 2 — Prime Minister Narendra Modi set out five priority areas to deepen cooperation between India and Canada: clean energy and critical minerals, infrastructure and capital partnerships, artificial intelligence, manufacturing and technology, and food processing.
On clean energy, Modi highlighted growing collaboration in nuclear power, including commitments for long-term uranium supply and positive feedback from Cameco’s leadership. He urged joint work on small modular reactors, advanced reactor designs and the broader nuclear value chain. He also called for building resilient critical-minerals supply chains by combining Canadian innovation in extraction and processing with India’s ability to scale battery and energy-storage manufacturing.
The second priority is infrastructure and capital. Modi pointed to India’s record infrastructure allocation of $130 billion in this year’s budget and the National Infrastructure Pipeline’s planned $1.3 trillion investment. Noting that Canadian pension funds and institutional investors have put roughly $100 billion into India, he invited more Canadian participation in financing and building India’s infrastructure growth.
On artificial intelligence, Modi proposed collaborative frameworks such as joint AI compute corridors and AI innovation sandboxes to help startups and researchers develop next-generation digital capabilities and accelerate commercialization.
In manufacturing and technology, he emphasized strengthening global value chains in electronics, aerospace and engineering by pairing Canada’s technological strengths with India’s manufacturing scale and cost advantages.
The fifth focus area is food processing: Modi pointed to rapidly expanding mega food parks, cold chains and food testing laboratories in India as concrete avenues for mutually beneficial collaboration with Canadian firms and expertise.
Earlier on Monday, the two countries launched a Strategic Energy Partnership to expand bilateral energy trade and deepen cooperation across clean energy, critical minerals and nuclear sectors. Delivering a joint statement, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney described the partnership as the start of a new phase with “generational opportunities.” He noted India’s energy demand is projected to double by 2040, that India aims to add 500 GW of renewable capacity by the end of the decade, and plans to nearly double the share of LNG in its primary energy mix. Carney said Canada’s resource base and competitive companies make it a strategic partner for India’s clean-technology, manufacturing and nuclear ambitions.
