Provincial Point of View
December 3, 2018
PREMIER MOE CONCLUDES SUCCESSFUL TRADE MISSION TO INDIA
Pictured above with Premier Scott Moe is Tim Gitzel, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cameco.
They are shown having an important meeting with India’s Department of Atomic Energy in Mumbai. Since Canada opened uranium sales to India in 2015, Saskatchewan has been providing a stable supply of clean, abundant energy for nuclear reactors in India. As India seeks to continue to further grow into Nuclear energy, our province has a great opportunity to supply that needed fuel.
Premier Scott Moe has returned from his first trade mission to India. During the trip, Premier Moe made stops in New Delhi and Mumbai and met with a number of Indian government and business leaders to advance Saskatchewan’s trade interests.
“India is one of Saskatchewan’s most important markets,” Moe said. “This mission was an opportunity for me to meet with important Indian stakeholders and decision makers and to discuss ways to work together to advance our mutual prosperity.”
During the mission, the Premier:
- met with a number of Indian government leaders, including the Minister of Commerce and Industry, the Minister of Food Processing Industries, a Minister of State for the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and the Chair of the Atomic Energy Commission of India;
- continued discussions around the challenges of tariffs on Saskatchewan pulse crops;
- met with major importers of Saskatchewan potash and pulse crops to encourage further development;
- met with area farmers and visited a market development project where Saskatchewan potash is used to enhance mustard crop yields;
- had meetings with a number of Indian business leaders to promote Saskatchewan as a place to invest and to identify potential partnerships in innovation and research;
- participated in roundtable discussions with Canadian and Indian business leaders on the current state of trade opportunities for future growth; and
- met with students and alumni of Saskatchewan Polytechnic and oversaw the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Saskatchewan Polytechnic, the University of Regina and the Emmanuel Hospital Foundation to facilitate exchanges in nursing education.
“While we continue to face significant challenges in India regarding tariffs and trade barriers, we know our relationship will continue to grow and develop,” Moe said. “With an export driven economy like Saskatchewan, we need to engage proactively with key markets like India to ensure we are creating wealth and opportunity for Saskatchewan people. That’s what trade missions like this are all about.”
India is the world’s second most populated country and is growing rapidly. Saskatchewan has been Canada’s top exporter to India for the past decade with exports valued at $1.15 billion in 2017, which accounted for 27 per cent of Canada’s total exports to the region. Saskatchewan’s major exports to India include potash, uranium, lentils and peas. Approximately 4,550 Saskatchewan jobs rely on exports to India.
