Canada pitches itself as trusted critical minerals supplier to India

Canada is seeking to position itself as a trusted and major supplier of critical minerals to India, its High Commissioner Christopher Cooter has said, describing his country as a critical minerals superpower with abundant reserves of nearly every mineral on India's list.

Speaking on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi, Cooter said Canada is rapidly accelerating its production of critical minerals and is looking at agreements both for the purchase of its minerals and, more importantly, for investment in each other's supply chains. Such cooperation, he said, would allow processing and integration into advanced technologies to take place in both countries.

He said Canada can be a reliable source of minerals as well as of technology and know-how, pointing to its mining schools and institutions that train people in the civilian nuclear sector. According to him, there is a strong fit between Canada and India in almost every area being discussed at the conference.

Cooter said Canada wants to be an "island of security" for India in the critical minerals supply chain, at a time when trade and political arrangements face difficulties and there is widespread insecurity. He said Canada has the resources, technology and know-how to support India's green transition, semiconductor development and industries across the board.

On the proposed India-Canada free trade agreement, the High Commissioner said negotiations are ongoing and expressed hope that they will conclude. The idea behind the FTA, he said, is to reduce tariffs and, at least as importantly, to signal that both countries are open for business with each other. He added that the agreement would highlight Canada's skills, technology and natural resources to Indian businesses.

One outcome Canada hopes for from the FTA, he said, is that it becomes more cost-effective for India to purchase certain currently tariffed minerals from Canada, giving it an alternative source. He described this as good for business and for consumers in India, and said the two countries complement each other like two gears that, when they fit, propel each other forward.

In July this year, Canada and India signed a Memorandum of Understanding to support the development of secure, resilient and diversified critical mineral supply chains. The MoU provides a framework to promote trade and investment between the two countries and to facilitate the exchange of technical knowledge and best practices in the exploration, mining, beneficiation and processing of critical and strategic minerals.