CIF Welcomes India’s External Affair Minister, Shri Salman Khurshid

PRESS RELEASE

Toronto, Canada, September 25: Canada India Foundation joined hands with Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and the Canada-India Business Council to hold a welcome reception for India’s Minister of External Affairs, Shri Salman Khurshid, on September 22 at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Toronto.

The reception followed discussions on Canada-India bilateral relations between Minister Khurshid and Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon. John Baird. Joining Minister Baird in welcoming Minister Khurshid at the reception were Hon. Jason Kenney, Minister of Employment, Social Development and Multiculturalism and a host of political, business and community leaders including Hon. Bal Gosal, Minister of State (Sport), Mr. Deepak Obhrai, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Foreign Affairs, Senator Dr. Asha Seth, Members of Parliament Mr.  Parm Gill, Ms. Jinny Sims, Mr. Brad Butt and Mr. Joe Daniel, CIF Executives and many others, underscoring the importance of the visit by Minister Khurshid to Canada. Also present to welcome Minister Khurshid were India’s High Commissioner to Canada, Shri Nirmal Verma and India’s Consul General in Toronto, Shri Akhilesh Mishra.

In his welcome speech, Minister Baird emphasized the strong ties between Canada and India, exemplified by two current initiatives, the civil nuclear agreement and the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. He praised the co-hosts, CIF and C-IBC, on their leadership in advancing Canada-India relations.

In a warmly received speech, Minister Khurshid spoke of the shared values of democracy, pluralism and respect for human rights, between Canada and India, and of areas of cooperation between the two countries, including trade and investment, skills development, food security, energy security, infrastructure and innovation.

Speaking on behalf of CIF, Mr. Laj Prasher referred to CIF’s commitment to a public policy focused interaction between the two countries, through Canada India Forums on Energy, Mining, Agriculture and the upcoming forum on Infrastructure, to be organized by CIF in Ottawa and Toronto in April 2014.

Mr. Peter Sutherland, CEO of C-IBC, spoke about his organization’s upcoming programs, making reference to the CEO Business Forum being organized in Mumbai later this year.

CIF Chair, Dr. V.I. Lakshmanan presented Minister Khurshid with a book, published by CIF, containing talks given by former President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, during his many visits to Canada.

Earlier Dr. Lakshmanan and Mr. Prasher met with Minister Khurshid at a breakfast event organized by Consul General Mishra.

Canada India Foundation (CIF) is a national, non-profit, non-partisan, non-governmental organization (NGO) established in 2007 to foster support for stronger bi-lateral relations between Canada and India; to educate Canadians on India; and to increase the participation by Indo-Canadians in political process in Canada. CIF’s founding members include industrialists, senior Canadian business executives and top tier professionals.

For more information:

Kalyan Sundaram
(416) 779-5237
info@canadaindia.org
www.canadaindia.org