Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe is leading a delegation to India to maintain and grow trade opportunities, increase investment attraction, and showcase Saskatchewan’s capacity to foster food and energy security goals.
“This is an important mission for Saskatchewan as we continue to build relationships with India,” Premier Scott Moe said. “We have built strong relationships over a number of decades which has been crucial to building opportunities and protecting communities and jobs back home.”
While Scott called the visit crucial, the visit has raised many eyebrows too. His visit comes amidst increased diplomatic tensions between India and Canada after Canadian PM Justin Trudeau accused India of being involved in the killing of a Sikh community leader in British Columbia and meddling in Canada’s affairs.
Also his visit was criticized by the provincial opposition NDP which claimed that the visit will cost extra dollars to tax-payers’ money. Official Opposition Trade Critic Aleana Young said “Premier Scott Moe’s third trip to India comes on the heels of his controversial Dubai junket that cost taxpayers at least a million dollars. His most recent trip to India in February 2023 cost taxpayers $56,905.51 and came just two days after his Agriculture Minister got home from India. Premier Moe’s first trip to India was in November 2018 and cost $59,514.14,” she said.
In a news release, the Saskatchewan government said the mission is meant to maintain and grow trade opportunities, increase investment attraction and showcase Saskatchewan’s food and energy sectors. “The total Canadian exports to India were valued at $5.1 billion. Of that total, Saskatchewan was responsible for 26 per cent, valued at over $1.3 billion. The province’s top five exports to India include lentils, potash, wood pulp, peas and non-durum wheat. Saskatchewan is India’s largest exporter of key products including potash and lentils,” the release mentioned.
One of the main events the Premier is attending the Raisina Dialogue, where he has been invited to participate as a speaker. The Raisina Dialogue is an annual conference held in New Delhi that brings together key stakeholders and policymakers from across the world to discuss global issues. During the event, Premier Moe focus is on Saskatchewan’s sustainable agriculture practices and reliable supply chain.
During his visit Scott met with Indian Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Sushri Shobha Karandlaje to discuss Saskatchewan’s ongoing trade relationship with India as a consistent and reliable supplier of pulses, potash, agricultural technologies and research partnerships.
He also met India’s External affairs minister S Jaishankar. “An important supplier of potash, lentils and uranium. Saskatchewan’s Indian origin community has truly been a bridge between us. I appreciate Premier Scott Moe’s strong support for our partnership and looking forward to deepening our cooperation,” Jaishankar said.
The Canadian Delegation led by the Premier of Saskatchewan also met Indian Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh to discuss bilateral collaboration as well as joint ventures in areas like Electric Vehicles, Cyber Physical System, Quantum Technologies, Future Manufacturing, Green Hydrogen Fuel, Deep Ocean Mining etc.
The release by Indian government mentions that Moe observed that Canada and India relations have made great strides in recent years and have become truly multidimensional, spurred by a significant convergence of interests, mutual goodwill and exchanges. He said, Science and Technology cooperation is one of the strategic pillars of the bilateral relationship between the two countries. Academia, Research Institutions and Industries of both countries have strong bonding and are playing the role of catalyst in our strategic research and development partnerships.
Post-secondary education is also a priority for the mission. Representatives from the University of Saskatchewan have joined the delegation to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with QPiAI, a tech company based in India. Moe also signed another MOU on behalf of the Ministry of Advanced Education with the Shastri Indo Canadian Institute to promote educational collaboration.
