New Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday identified five key priority areas to strengthen economic cooperation between India and Canada, spanning clean energy, critical minerals, infrastructure, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing and food processing.

Addressing the India–Canada CEO Forum in New Delhi, Modi said, “To move these shared ambitions forward, I will put some suggestions before you,” before detailing sector-specific proposals aimed at expanding bilateral economic engagement.

Clean energy and nuclear cooperation

Calling clean energy a shared priority, Modi said the two countries have already increased cooperation in nuclear energy and contracted for long-term uranium supplies.

Referring to Canadian uranium major Cameco, he noted positive discussions with its leadership and suggested advancing collaboration in small modular reactors, advanced reactors and across the nuclear value chain.

He also stressed cooperation in critical minerals, saying both sides have taken steps to build resilient supply chains. “We can move forward by combining Canada’s innovation with India’s scaling capability in batteries and energy storage,” he said.

Infrastructure and capital partnership

Outlining the second pillar, Modi highlighted infrastructure and capital cooperation.

“In this year’s budget, we have made a record allocation of 130 billion dollars for infrastructure. Under the National Infrastructure Pipeline, an investment of 1.3 trillion dollars is being made,” he said.

Pointing to strong Canadian institutional investment in India, he added, “Canada’s pension funds have invested 100 billion dollars in India. This shows deep trust. I invite you to become a part of India’s infrastructure growth story.”

AI, manufacturing and food processing

On emerging technologies, Modi proposed deeper collaboration in artificial intelligence. “We can work together to create joint AI compute corridors and AI innovation sandboxes for startups,” he said.

Highlighting manufacturing and technology as the fourth area, he said global value chains in electronics, aerospace and engineering could be strengthened by combining Canadian technology with India’s scale.

Identifying food processing as the fifth focus area, Modi noted the rapid development of mega food parks, cold chains and food testing laboratories across India. “This could be another strong example of our win-win cooperation,” he said.

Strategic Energy Partnership launched

Earlier in the day, India and Canada launched a Strategic Energy Partnership aimed at expanding bilateral energy trade and cooperation in clean energy, critical minerals and nuclear sectors.

In a joint statement with Modi, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney described the initiative as marking a new phase in ties, offering “generational opportunities” for both countries.

Carney noted that India’s energy demand is projected to double by 2040 and that the country plans to add 500 gigawatts of renewable capacity by the end of the decade, while increasing the share of liquefied natural gas in its primary energy mix.

He said Canada’s vast resource base and globally competitive companies position it as a strategic partner for India’s clean technology, manufacturing and nuclear ambitions.

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The five-pronged roadmap underscores New Delhi’s push to broaden economic engagement with Canada across strategic and high-growth sectors, with energy security, supply chain resilience and advanced technologies at the core of the evolving partnership.