Notes for Remarks
by
the Honourable Joe Oliver
Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources
to the
Confederation of Indian Industry
January 15, 2014
Mumbai, India
Check against delivery
Thank you and good evening everyone. I’m so pleased to be back in Mumbai.
It is a particular honour to be here again at the Confederation of Indian Industry, an organization steeped in history but focused on the future, an organization that represents the best of Indian business. Canadians know that when we are in India, we are among friends. I do not think it is a contradiction to say that today's warm welcome is appreciated because it is not unusual.
Canada is immensely proud of its relationship with India — proud to call itself a close friend and ally. As I’ve said before and am seeing first-hand again, we have strong people-to-people ties, and we’re focused on building an even stronger and more prosperous relationship between our countries.
Accelerating Economic Growth through Innovation, Transformation, Inclusion and Governance is a powerful theme for this year’s gathering, because burgeoning growth is exactly what is happening to the India–Canada relationship.
We meet at an extraordinary moment in the history of our relationship: a time of growing momentum, remarkable complementarity and enormous potential.
Both our countries have demonstrated their commitment to strengthening this vital relationship. Since 2008, Indian Ministers have visited Canada 10 times. In turn, Canadian Ministers, myself included, have visited India 13 times, and I’m delighted to be here in the midst of cold Canadian winter, although not for that reason. Still, last week in Toronto, it fell to minus 18 degrees Celsius, about minus 35 with the wind chill factor. My friends, that's cold.
In spite of climate differences, history has made us friends and allies, and commerce is increasingly making us partners. And it is to advance that economic relationship, particularly in energy, that brings me to India.
When I was here a little over a year ago, I spoke about the extraordinary economic opportunities before us, rooted in India’s emergence as a global economic power and its need for energy to fuel that growth and a burgeoning middle class.
India is now the fourth-largest energy consumer in the world and is expected to quadruple its electricity supply within the next 25 years. That’s an extraordinary challenge. But Canada — an energy powerhouse — has the resources, the technology and the expertise to help India meet it, as I know India will.
In 2012, two-way investment was valued at $4.4 billion and two-way trade was at $5.1 billion. And we are committed to increasing cooperation in these areas moving forward.
Strengthening the energy relationship with India is a priority for the Government of Canada and for me, personally. So I am encouraged by the significant progress we’ve made in just the last year alone.
Let me quickly highlight three areas where our renewed commitment is paying real dividends.
Oil and Gas
First, in energy. We have successfully launched the Canada–India Ministerial Energy Dialogue. Prime Minister Singh and Prime Minister Harper first announced this initiative in November of 2012.
And this past October, I had the pleasure of hosting a delegation led by Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia of India’s Planning Commission for our first meeting under that dialogue. We signed Terms of Reference outlining priority areas of cooperation. They include promoting two-way trade and investment in hydrocarbons, identifying areas for cooperation in power and renewables and exchanging experiences in the energy sector, including lessons learned in smart grid technology.
This dialogue, co-chaired by Dr. Ahluwalia and myself, recognizes the near-perfect alignment between Canada’s vast resources and India’s rising demand. It affirms energy cooperation as a central element of our strategic partnership. And it ensures that energy issues will receive the attention they deserve at the highest levels of our governments.
We also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on oil and gas with India’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. This MOU lays the foundation for strategic and technical cooperation, including joint research, exchanging expertise and promoting cooperation between our oil and gas companies.
Our strengthening energy relationship is already bearing fruit. This month, India will receive the third tanker of oil from Canada since October 2012. We hope this trend will continue as Indian refiners discover the advantages of importing oil from Canada.
Nuclear Energy
Last year also saw a breakthrough on the nuclear file. In September, the Nuclear Cooperation Agreement between India and Canada came into force. Companies in both countries can now export and import controlled nuclear materials, equipment and technology for peaceful purposes, subject to safeguards enforced by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
This agreement comes at a critical time, as India electrifies the country to meet its growing energy needs with low carbon energy. Indeed, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India has announced an ambitious program for expanding nuclear generation, including four 700 MW Candu-related indigenous pressurized heavy water reactors already under construction and plans to build ten more by 2023.
This agreement — and the obvious interest on both sides to work together — makes commercial and technological sense, since our programs are based on similar, pressurized heavy water technology.
A Joint Committee, established under the Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, is already hard at work, identifying key areas for cooperation, including deeper scientific and industrial collaboration. For example, there is potential to jointly develop advanced fuel cycles such as thorium, which India has an abundance. Discussions have also begun on regulatory cooperation, medical isotopes and on Indian interest in Canadian uranium, which Canada has in abundance and which can help meet India’s growing energy requirements.
I believe the Nuclear Cooperation Agreement will bring significant benefits to both countries, including new market opportunities for Canada and greater energy diversification for India.
The progress of the past year has been remarkable. And it is not confined to oil, gas and nuclear energy. We’ve also seen significant steps taken in a third area as well: forestry.
Forestry
As India grows, its demand for wood products is expected to soar. As a world leader in high-quality forest products, Canada is well positioned again to meet much of that demand, from doors, windows and mouldings, packaging and furniture to pulp and paper.
Last year, we provided financial support to the Government of British Columbia to open a wood market development office in Mumbai. That office is showcasing Canadian wood products in office furniture and door and window applications and opening new possibilities for both countries.
Indian companies, such as Aditya Birla, are investing directly in Canada’s forest sector, with ownership of two dissolving pulp mills and investments of $250 million in a third. We welcome this kind of investment because we know it is win-win, generating profits for Indian investors and jobs for Canadian workers.
Mining
Yesterday in Delhi, I renewed a MOU on cooperation in the field of earth sciences and mining between my department, Natural Resources Canada, and India’s Ministry of Mines.
I also signed a Letter of Intent with India’s Minister of Steel, Beni Prasad Verma, outlining our intention to expand mutual cooperation in the iron and steel sector and other allied industries.
In all of these areas — oil and gas, nuclear, forestry and mining — we see evidence of a robust relationship between our two countries. But the momentum does not stop there.
Looking to the Future
As I said to you last year, Canada is committed to diversifying our energy markets. That’s why we have launched our plan for Responsible Resource Development, which will facilitate new pipelines to our west and east coasts and ensure that we get our resources to tidewater and international markets.
Nowhere are the opportunities greater than here in Asia. India, as you know, is one of the world’s largest importers of liquefied natural gas, and Canada is the world’s fifth-largest producer of natural gas.
With four applications currently under National Energy Board review, there are now 11 export licences at various stages of approval, totalling 165 million tonnes of LNG export capacity annually. One of these licences is for an LNG terminal which has been proposed for our east coast. With the potential for exporting 10 million tonnes per year, it represents another opportunity to bring Canadian resources to India.
Given the current resource estimates and all the project proposals underway, it is clear that the global energy industry is confident about Canada’s future as an LNG exporter.
Conclusion
Let me close as I began, by reminding all of us that we are privileged to be part of something special. Something historic. A revitalization of the relationship between two great countries. A promising future to our partnership.
We are well started in that revitalization. But what our recent progress conveys, our future resolve must command: that we move forward, to even greater achievements. In that effort, organizations like yours will play a critical role. Exploring opportunities. Exploiting the potential. And capturing the possibilities.
With much work behind us, India and Canada are entering a new era of cooperation and commerce. Let us keep the momentum going. And let us translate our progress into decades of prosperity for both our people.
Thank you.
