Jakarta, July 7 (IANS). According to Christopher Skeet, Minister of Quebec Province of Canada, Quebec wants to further strengthen its economic ties with India by increasing cooperation in areas like Artificial Intelligence (AI), aerospace, education and clean technology. Along with this, there is also a plan to promote investment and business partnership between the two countries.
Speaking to news agency IANS, Quebec’s Minister of International Relations and La Francophonie Christopher Skeet said the province is focusing on diversifying its economy and developing a long-term and stable partnership with India.
He said, “For us, this is an effort to diversify our economy and establish lasting relations with India. We feel that there is immense potential for cooperation between the two sides and we are very excited about it.”
Skeet cited AI, aerospace and education as areas with the most potential for collaboration. He said that there is already a strong synergy between the universities of Quebec and India, which can be taken further.
“Aerospace is a great field. Artificial Intelligence is also an important field and so is education. There is very close cooperation between our universities, which needs to be further strengthened,” he said.
He said the world is changing rapidly and countries need to work with each other to develop secure supply chains and reliable partnerships. According to him, India and Quebec can form an effective partnership in this direction.
Inviting Indian companies to explore investment and business opportunities in Quebec, Skeet said the province offers a conducive environment for entrepreneurship and innovation-based businesses.
He said, “There are many opportunities here for Indian investors. We like the thinking and entrepreneurial experience of Indian entrepreneurs. There are good investment and business opportunities in Quebec for Indian companies, while there are also vast opportunities in India for Quebec companies.”
He said that Quebec wants to further strengthen its presence in India, so that trade cooperation and investment can be promoted between the two sides.
Citing emerging technologies as an important foundation of future cooperation, Skeet said AI and aerospace will play a key role in the next phase of the Quebec-India economic partnership.
According to him, “Artificial Intelligence dictates the future and Quebec is very well positioned in this regard. We can do a lot together. Aerospace is another priority where both sides have big opportunities.”
The minister said that instead of setting long-term targets, the current focus is on generating concrete business results.
“We need to bring business from India to Quebec, we need to bring business here from Quebec, and we need to foster those connections now so that in 10 years we can say this was a huge success,” he said.
Skeet said he met with officials at both the state and central government levels during his visit and looks to strengthen institutional cooperation that will further improve the business environment between Quebec and India.
–IANS
KK/AS
