Saskatchewan, which leads the other Canadian province in trade ties with India, is planning to set up an office in India and would also like to have an Indian office on its soil, Rob Norris, Saskatchewan Minister of Advanced Education, Employment and Labour, said on Thursday.
At an interaction with journalists of The Hindu group of publications, Mr. Norris said investment in the post-secondary education was a priority for his government. The delegation he was leading was looking at opportunities for research collaborations with Indian universities.
The Saskatchewan International Education Council was set up by his government to increase recruitment of quality students from around the world and to connect post-secondary education to innovation, Mr. Norris said.
Apart from professionals in technology, the province was keen on attracting nurses and doctors. A physician recruitment agency was opened, and there was also a plan to increase the number of nurses recruited each year, he said. He pointed out that Canada's public health system was one of the strongest in the world and said it needed more doctors and nurses.
Mr. Norris reviewed the existing academic agreements when he visited the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras in the morning. There was also a possibility of improving ties with the University of Madras after Vice-Chancellor G. Thiruvasagam expressed an interest in equal collaboration with universities in the province, he said.
As for agriculture, he said a substantial proportion of pulses imported to India came from his province. There were concerns over the use of methyl bromide in India for fumigation, and his government hoped the issue would be resolved at the earliest to facilitate free movement of pulses between India and Saskatchewan.
The University of Saskatchewan had some of the world's foremost experts in water, and they could help India face its water crisis, Mr. Norris said. Recently, the Canadian government set up a “super chair” at the university, and Indian experts could contribute to research at the institution.
As a third of the world's uranium is found in Saskatchewan, the province is keen on improving its nuclear energy research infrastructure, Mr. Norris said. This could also be an area of interest to India.
