Following policy discussions in Ottawa and rousing community reception in Toronto on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sat down with top officials from Canada’s major pension funds to convince them that India’s infrastructure investment story could be a lucrative opportunity for them.
In a message to The Hindu, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said the meetings “reflected very positive sentiments,” and while there were “no discordant notes,” the issues raised largely related to the need for a stable and predictable tax regime, a perspective that the Prime Minister was said to value.
Mr. Akbaruddin added on Twitter, “Demand to do business with India has gone up exponentially; India now on top of our list — Canadian investors to PM.” The meeting with the pension fund bosses comes after another one, organised by the Canada-India Business Council and the Toronto Board of Trade was apparently cancelled earlier in the week, despite nearly 400 people including small and medium enterprises representatives being invited.