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India urges Canada to relax visa regulations

     Toronto: To boost trade and employment opportunities, India has advised Canada to relax their visa regulations, which can help both nations to explore new opportunities together. This will facilitate the students of both the nations, who want to go abroad and study. "The process for issuing visas to students, professionals and businessmen from India should be made more flexible and less time-consuming," said Shyamala B. Cowsik, the leader of the Indian Delegation to the Eighth Conference organised by Canada- India Business Council (C-IBC). The function was attended by 200 top executives who are from various Canadian companies. "The State Government of the second largest Canadian province would soon open a permanent trade centre in New Delhi to expand and strengthen commercial and economic relations with India," said Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, chief guest at the occasion. As enormous opportunities await for entrepreneurs in both countries, the trade Centre would help Canadian and Indian entrepreneurs in finding their matching partners and establishing their business in both the nations.

    The Indian High Commissioner asked the Canadian companies to invest in India and said that country was emerging as a prime location for the outsourcing of financial, technological and manufacturing processes. She added that other than these there were major investment opportunities in oil and gas, hydro, and other forms of energy, mining, construction, transportation, telecommunications, environmental technologies, food processing, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and information technology. Shyamala B Cowsik also asked the Indian community to take initiatives to market the country in Canada by initializing at least one venture in India. She addedd, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would visit Canada next year. And the aim of the visit is to strengthen their power in some of the areas like political, economic and cultural. In December, officials from C-IBC business development mission on environment and energy will visit India to explore trade opportunities. Kam Rathee, C-IBC Executive Director, remarked that, the council is making efforts to improve and expand bilateral trade between the two nations.