Mr. Speaker, during the recent Easter break I had the privilege of visiting India to meet with various senior government officials.
India is a country that is growing rapidly. The economic development that I personally witnessed was phenomenal. The economy is booming at an extraordinary rate of 8 per cent per year. India is rapidly becoming an economic tiger of all developing countries.
Throughout my meetings with cabinet ministers of the Indian government and the chief ministers of several important provinces the discussion always centred on developing closer trade ties between Canada and India. Canadian expertise and technology combined with India's pool of manpower would create tremendous job opportunities for both countries.
This desire was not only expressed by senior politicians but by industrialists I had the pleasure to meet with as well. The interest is there, and I call on the government to work diligently toward developing an increased trade level with India. There are limitless opportunities and there can be no doubt that both countries will greatly benefit.