{"id":722,"date":"2014-09-10T20:39:00","date_gmt":"2014-09-10T20:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rf.podcastfixit.com\/index.php\/2014\/09\/10\/obhrai-canada-india-close-to-inking\/"},"modified":"2015-06-01T19:40:56","modified_gmt":"2015-06-01T19:40:56","slug":"obhrai-canada-india-close-to-inking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2014\/09\/10\/obhrai-canada-india-close-to-inking\/","title":{"rendered":"Obhrai: Canada, India close to inking free-trade pact"},"content":{"rendered":"

Modi visit expected in 2015<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

By Robert Frank<\/b>
\nwww.thesuburban.com<\/a><\/p>\n

The stage is set for Canada to sign a free-trade agreement with the second most-populous country on the planet, Deepak Obhrai told Indo-Canadian community leaders during a meeting in Dollard des Ormeaux, Sept. 7.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in our comfort zone,\u201d the Conservative government\u2019s parliamentary secretary for Foreign Affairs told The Suburban.<\/i> He said that two agreements are pending: In addition to the free-trade pact, Canada has negotiated terms for a \u201cForeign Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement (FIPA).\u201d<\/p>\n

Another bilateral agreement for Canada to supply potash to India is also in the works, he said in an interview.<\/p>\n

Obhrai, whom the Hill Times<\/i> ranked among Canada\u2019s most influential foreign policymakers, added that India\u2019s newly elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to pay an official visit to Canada in 2015.<\/p>\n

Given the advanced stages of trade negotiations, the business-friendly Indian leader\u2019s trip here could serve as an opportunity for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to ink the accord ahead of a federal election which, according to the Canada Elections Act, must be held Oct. 19 next year.<\/p>\n

No snap election<\/b>
\n
<\/b>
\nObhrai categorically dismissed rumours that Harper will call an earlier election.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe passed the law that specifies when the election will be held,\u201d he replied. \u201cWhy would we want to change the date?\u201d<\/p>\n

India is currently Canada\u2019s second-greatest source of immigrants, and Punjabi is now the country\u2019s third most-spoken language, after English and French.<\/p>\n

The timing of the prospective free trade pact is auspicious. Besides being pro-business, Modi leads India’s first majority government in two decades. That gives him a huge margin for maneuver at a time when growth is flagging in neighbouring China.
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\nOverseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP), India\u2019s ruling party, hosted Conservative government international expert Deepak Obhrai (second from left) in DDO, Sept. 7. Joining him are (left to right) businessman Dharam Pal (DP) Verma and his wife Kavshalya Verma, OFBJP national coordinator for parliamentary and legislative affairs Raman Chopra and South Asian community leader Shama Chopra.<\/b><\/div>\n
\n(Photo \u00a9 Robert Frank)<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Modi visit expected in 2015 By Robert Frank www.thesuburban.com The stage is set for Canada to sign a free-trade agreement with the second most-populous country on the planet, Deepak Obhrai told Indo-Canadian community leaders during a meeting in Dollard des Ormeaux, Sept. 7. \u201cWe\u2019re in our comfort zone,\u201d the Conservative government\u2019s parliamentary secretary for Foreign<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3434,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nObhrai: Canada, India close to inking free-trade pact - Newscoverage<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2014\/09\/10\/obhrai-canada-india-close-to-inking\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Obhrai: Canada, India close to inking free-trade pact - 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