The development comes after Chinese President Xi Jinping and Canadian Prime Miniter Justin Trudeau witnessed an on-camera faceoff on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali
Canada has launched an Indo-Pacific strategy with an investment of $2.3 billion over the next five years. The development comes after Chinese President Xi Jinping and Canadian Prime Miniter Justin Trudeau witnessed an on-camera faceoff on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali.
Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy will focus on a roadmap to strengthen its presence in the Indo-Pacific over the next 10 years. On November 28, the Canadian High Commission said that the strategy will involve strengthening economic, military and people-to-people cooperation in the region, including with India. Under the strategy, Canada will be pumping in $1.7 billion in building military capability and cybersecurity in the region.
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly released the 26-page document which referred to China as an ‘increasingly disruptive global power’.
“India’s strategic importance and leadership—both across the region and globally—will only increase as India—the world’s biggest democracy—becomes the most populous country in the world and continues to grow its economy. Canada will seek new opportunities to partner and engage in dialogue in areas of common interest and values, including security, and the promotion of democracy, pluralism and human rights.”
— Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy
Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy has a long brief on India which underlines the growing importance Ottawa attaches to strategic ties with New Delhi in light of the increasing Chinese dominance in the region. While noting India’s ‘growing strategic, economic and demographic importance in the Indo-Pacific’, the strategy describes India as a ‘critical partner’.
Under the Indo-Pacific policy, Canada will ‘invest in and connect people’. The document mentions that people-to-people ties will be achieved by ‘bolstering Canada’s visa-processing capacity in New Delhi and Chandigarh’. According to reports, Canada is hoping to clear its massive visa backlog of 2.7 million applications by December. In 2022, post pandemic, there has been a massive 55 per cent surge in visa applications as compared to 2019.
According to the strategy, Canada will also support academic, educational, cultural, youth and research exchanges which could boost the education opportunities for Indian students in Canada. The documents mentions that one in five recent immigrants to Canada are born in India. Interestingly, 6,50,000 students from India studied in Canada from 2012 to 2021 – the document records.
“India’s strategic importance and leadership—both across the region and globally—will only increase as India—the world’s biggest democracy—becomes the most populous country in the world and continues to grow its economy. Canada will seek new opportunities to partner and engage in dialogue in areas of common interest and values, including security, and the promotion of democracy, pluralism and human rights,” Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy said.
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