Ottawa aims to help meet India’s growing demand for critical resources
Canada and India are looking to further deepen their trade relations, with a particular focus on energy and raw materials. This follows a joint statement released earlier this week and signed by Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Tim Hodgson, and India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri.
The statement positions Canada as a supplier and India as a rapidly growing demand market for both clean and conventional energy, as well as critical minerals. India, now the world’s most populous country and one of its fastest-growing major economies, plans substantial investments in renewable energy to meet rising electricity demand. These efforts, along with the planned expansion of its domestic high-tech sector, will require large quantities of critical minerals. Going forward, India aims to reduce its reliance on imports from China, placing greater emphasis on supply-chain diversification alongside increased domestic production.
Canada, for its part, is already a major mining nation and is seeking to further scale up production of critical minerals while positioning itself as an alternative supplier to China. Ottawa has set its sights on becoming a significant producer of rare earths and recently brought one of the few rare earth refining facilities outside China online, complementing its domestic mining operations.
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