Jaishankar praises Indian community in Canada's Saskatchewan province

New Delhi, Jan 20:  External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Tuesday lauded the Indian community in Canada's Saskatchewan province as he welcomed the region's Premier for the 9th Raisina Dialogue here.

Taking to X, Jaishankar wrote it was "great to meet" Premier Scott Moe and praised the Indians for serving as a bridge between the two nations.

"Appreciate @PremierScottMoe’s strong support for our partnership and looking forward to deepening our cooperation," Jaishankar said as he also shared a picture of the two leaders shaking hands.

"An important supplier of potash, lentils, and uranium. Saskatchewan’s Indian-origin community has truly been a bridge between us," he added.

Saskatchewan is home to 15,660 Indians, according to the 2021 census, and from 2016 to 2021, immigrants from India made up 18.4 per cent of total immigrants moving into the province.

The province's exports to India stand at more than $1 billion and roughly make up a third of Canada's total exports to the country. In addition, the province also has a trade and investment office in New Delhi.

Following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations relating to the death of a Canadian national by Indian agents in September last year, Moe had told CBC news channel that such issues between Ottawa and New Delhi should be kept separate from the trade relationship with the country.

Moe had also led a high-level delegation to India in March last year and met Union Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh.

During the meeting, a discussion was held on cooperation and joint ventures in areas like electric vehicles, quantum technologies, green hydrogen fuel, and deep ocean mining, among others.

Moe said that Canada-India relations have made great strides in recent years and have become truly multi-dimensional, spurred by a significant convergence of interests, mutual goodwill, and exchange.

After the meeting, Singh had said that the 2.3 million-strong Indian diaspora was reinforcing Indo-Canadian relations, and contributing to the development of both nations.

Meanwhile, leaders from across the world have begun arriving in the capital for the Raisina Dialogue, India’s premier conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.

The Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday announced the touch down of Foreign Ministers Lyonpo D.N. Dhungyel from Bhutan, Gabrielius Landsbergis from Lithuania, and Margus Tsahkna from Estonia. The country's flagship conference on geopolitics will witness the participation of representatives from over 100 countries and over 2,500 participants from about 115 countries will be joining the in-person dialogue.

According to a Ministry of External Affairs release, the theme of the 2024 edition is "Chaturanga: Conflict, Contest, Cooperate, Create".