India impressed with Canadian premier

Wednesday, 19 January 2005, 20:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: For India, which had to previously suffer sententious lecturing of Canadian government leaders and officials, the short visit by Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin was indicative of how perceptions quickly change. "He brought a refreshingly new approach to bilateral relations and even I have to put aside my usual cynicism," said a senior official, who has dealt with visits by Canadian dignitaries in the past. "There was a difference of night and day between this visit and the previous Canadian visit," said the official. "You had a sense that he wants this to work," the official told IANS. "Usually, they lecture you on nuclear proliferation and Pakistan and we tell them where they get off. "This time there was not a single reference to nuclear issues or Pakistan," he said, adding that the only reference to nuclear issue came when a journalist asked a question at the joint press conference Martin addressed with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Canadian prime minister has been of the view that India along with China and Brazil will hold the key to the world's economic well-being in the new century and it is in Ottawa's interest to have strong bilateral ties with these three countries. Martin, who is the second Canadian prime minister to visit the country in less than two years, was in Brazil last month and is due in China after the India visit. The visit had been planned as Martin had conveyed his interest in visiting India after Manmohan Singh's government assumed office in May last year. Both the prime ministers were contemporary finance ministers in the nineties and Manmohan Singh happily invited the Canadian leader, though protocol-wise, it is the Indian prime minister who was to return Jean Chretien's 2003 visit. "The talks were very focussed with economy, science, technology and health figuring prominently," the official said about the delegation-level discussions between the two sides. Martin's business background was very much in evidence during the interactions. "He was looking at where world business will be headed in five to 10 years and he does not want Canada to be late for the party," another official said. India enthusiastically supported his proposal for a summit of the Group of 20 (G-20) countries as he felt that the Group of Eight (G-8) format was too restrictive. The G-20 group, which includes India and Brazil, had demonstrated its political muscle during the Cancun ministerial meet of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) by thwarting an attempt by developed countries to foist a lopsided agreement on the developing world. The Canadian prime minister, who heads a minority government, had made sure to include Indo-Canadian leaders in his high-level delegation. Besides Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh, there were four other MPs of Indian origin - Gurbax Singh Malhi, Ruby Dhalla, Deepak Obhrai and Navdeep Singh Bains. "Being photographed with representatives of minority communities in India never does harm back home," a Canadian diplomat said. Officials referred to the long talk Martin had with the scientist President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and said the two leaders discussed the "nuts and bolts" of a long-term scientific cooperation programme. Both countries have decided to designate representatives to ensure its implementation. "We are not interested in making agreement. We want to seen them on the ground," the Canadian leader was quoted as saying. The two countries also agreed to contribute to the creation of a tsunami warning system for Indian Ocean nations and enhance trade and economic ties.
Source: IANS