Canada and India are very much alike. We have shared values and shared interests. Although India's 5,000-years-old civilisation, rich culture and proud religious history have been an inspiration to many Canadians, it is our shared history as members of the British Empire, followers of Common Law, fellow democracies, speakers of English and members of the Commonwealth that serve to bind us closer together. In fact, it was Canada who urged that India be allowed, as a republic, to join the Commonwealth, a body presided over by the Queen.

Today, Canada and India have become close as over one million Canadians of Indian origin call Canada home. This relationship will no doubt become closer, as India has become Canada's largest source of new immigrants in 2008.

Former Indian president Abdul Kalam visited Canada some time ago and delivered the following remarks at the Canada India Foundation gala in Toronto, which was attended by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

According to Dr Kalam: 'India is in the process of transforming itself into a 'developed country' by 2020. The Indian economy is in the ascent phase and the purchasing power of 300 million people is continuously rising. India and Canada could both complement each other in physical, natural and human resources. Both the countries have been technologically advanced and could provide end-to-end solutions to each other using their individual core competence or complementing their core competencies. These complementarities can not only provide higher quality of life for both Indian and Canadian societies, but also provide an opportunity to work for finding solutions to the problems of energy, environment and healthcare faced by different parts of the world.'

Considering these factors there is no doubt parliamentarians and our government need to work closer with India and the very dynamic and successful Indo-Canadian community.

Canada and India have a good trade relationship but there is room for improvement. It is my view that we in Canada must work to elevate the India relationship to the level of our relations with China. This might seem a strange comparison, but as one of the two emerging Asian powers, it is in the interests of our government and our institutions to work with democratic India, as we have worked with the People's Republic of China. Some might argue that our relationship with India as a free nation should surpass that of China, but this is not the time for that debate. I am interested in building the Canada-India relationship without reservation.

Canada's trade with India has been growing steadily over the past eight years, with exports to India totalling $1.4 billion and imports $1.9 billion. But bilateral trade remains only a small fraction of these countries' total trade. Canada's share of India's world exports is only one per cent and imports 0.7 per cent, while India's share of Canada's exports is 0.4 per cent and imports 0.5 per cent.

Canadian two-way merchandise trade with India grew at an average annual rate of 11.5 per cent over 1999-2006, but amounts to only $3.3 billion – less than 0.5 per cent of Canada's total merchandise trade in 2006. Services trade has grown more rapidly, at 13.9 per cent over 1999-2004. But it remains similarly small, accounting for less than 0.5 per cent of Canada's total services trade.

Although Canada's commercial links with India are growing, they remain minimal, comprising only a small percentage of Canada's total trade and investment.

The announcement by Prime Minister Harper at the Canada India Foundation Gala of additional trade commissioners and new trade offices in Hyderabad and Kolkata will no doubt serve to diversify Canada's footprint in India.

Additionally, the agreement in June 2007 between our governments to negotiate a Foreign Investment Protection Agreement is a welcome start, but not enough when countries such as Japan are seeking comprehensive trade agreements. It is clear that we in Canada must work harder to ensure that we are not left behind.

That is the way I believe we must move towards an economic cooperation agreement, as part of what should be a free trade agreement in years ahead.

India's development offers new opportunities for Canadian businesses, especially in areas such as agriculture, energy, environmental technologies and infrastructure.

Opportunities are also available in the educational sector for Canadian universities and colleges to establish partnerships and exchanges with their counterparts in India. Moreover, Canadian universities need to do more to attract foreign students from India.

With a growing middle class, Canada must also consider how it will market itself as a destination for Indian tourists.

In addition, as Canada's investment in Afghanistan continues, it is extremely important for Canada to begin to work with India, a close ally of the Afghan government and President Hamid Karzai. To date, India has pledged over $700 million in reconstruction assistance and thousands of Indians are working to rebuild the battered nation. By working cooperatively with India in Afghanistan, Canada might be able to find ways of leveraging regional expertise and partnerships to increase our efficiency on the ground.

In the area of fighting terrorism and developing strategic relationships, Canada must consider signing strategic partnership agreements with India as a friend and an ally.

We must also move beyond our knee-jerk reaction to India as a nuclear power. It is time Canada moved towards signing a comprehensive nuclear cooperation agreement to help ensure clean energy can be delivered to 1/6 of the world's population. Complaints about India's nuclear rise must be put into context of its neighbours (China and Pakistan) and the very fact that India, although not a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, has been a country that has never spread nuclear power. With a large supply of uranium and updated technology, Canada can be a worthy ally in helping India develop its clean energy capacity. Should we delay, other nations like France and America will be able to sell their technology to India, rather than Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) or our uranium suppliers.

As we look ahead to the Canada-India relationship, it is my firm view that Canada needs a comprehensive India strategy, based not on words, but concrete action.

The days of 'sari and samosa politics' are over. We need to take India and Indo-Canadians seriously if we wish to be taken seriously.

We as parliamentarians are beginning to lay the foundation for positive engagement. We will continue to press the government and all political parties, as well as Canadian business leaders, to work towards bringing these two nations closer together. On a domestic level, we must also work to integrate and leverage the skills and talents of the highly educated and integrated Indo-Canadian community.

Patrick Brown represents the constituency of Barrie in the Canadian Parliament. He is also chair of the Canada-India Parliamentary Friendship Group.

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