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<title>MR. PETTIGREW - ADDRESS TO THE CANADA-INDIA BUSINESS FORUM ON INDIA AND CANADA: PARTNERS IN TRADE AND INVESTMENT FOR THE 21ST CENTURY - DELHI, INDIA</title>
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<p><font size="+1"></font><font size="+1"><strong><u>CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY</u></strong></font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font size="+1"><strong>NOTES FOR AN ADDRESS BY THE HONOURABLE PIERRE PETTIGREW, MINISTER FOR
INTERNATIONAL TRADE, TO THE CANADA-INDIA BUSINESS FORUM ON INDIA AND
CANADA: PARTNERS IN TRADE AND INVESTMENT FOR THE 21ST CENTURY</strong></font></p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>DELHI, India</strong></font></p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>April 25, 2002</strong></font></p>
<p><strong>Introduction</strong></p>
<p>Let me begin by saying how delighted I am to be here, in Delhi, the vibrant political and academic capital of India, and how
pleased I am to have with me over 130 delegates from Canada. </p>
<p>I have been Minister for International Trade for almost three years now, and this is the largest business delegation I have
had the pleasure to lead. This overwhelming interest by the Canadian business community is a testament to what India has
done to build a strong 21st century economy.</p>
<p>I can assure you that the world has recognized how far your economy has advanced. India has grown from being the 16th to
the 12th largest economy in just the past six years. That is a key reason why India is a trade priority for Canada. It makes
economic sense. As the world's largest democracy with one of the world's largest middle classes, India offers exciting
prospects for pursuing trade opportunities. </p>
<p>As many of you know, Canada benefits from a large and dynamic Indo-Canadian community. This enriching aspect of
Canada's multi-ethnic society will help ensure that we continue to build the trade and investment linkages between our two
nations, both in terms of goods and culture. </p>
<p>We have similarities in our political culture. We both value dispute resolution through a fully independent judiciary. We are
both federal states that vest significant jurisdictions and taxing powers in regional and municipal governments. Maintaining
these elements is essential if our respective business communities are to thrive and prosper.</p>
<p>The benefits of increased trade between India and Canada expand beyond our borders. We can provide you, the Indian
business community, with a gateway to the North American market, while you provide us with a window to South and
Southeast Asia. </p>
<p>Regional economic cooperation is key to future peace and prosperity around the world, and I would like to commend India
on the leadership role it has played in encouraging economic cooperation in South Asia. </p>
<p>By negotiating a series of bilateral trade agreements with your neighbours and endeavouring to promote regional trade
through SAARC [South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation] and a variety of sub-regional groups, India and
indeed the entire region stand to gain.</p>
<p><strong>Canada is Committed to Strengthening Ties with India</strong></p>
<p>The visits of both our Deputy Prime Minister and myself within the space of three months are clear proof that Canada is
serious about developing a solid bilateral relationship with India. </p>
<p>Over the next 12 to 18 months, I expect that a number of my Cabinet colleagues will visit to further reinforce this
relationship. Colleagues of mine who plan to visit include the Ministers for Natural Resources, Environment, Finance,
Industry, Agriculture and Heritage. As well, there are plans to promote closer links between our parliamentarians. </p>
<p>I know that India, for its part, has plans for a similarly activist agenda.</p>
<p>Over the last year, our countries achieved record growth in exports, with total trade touching the $2 billion mark. The
high-tech sector is one of the driving forces behind this growth, as you can see from many of the companies I have with me
today. And India, as an emerging high-tech power with a young, dynamic, internet-savvy business class, will undoubtedly
benefit from this partnership.</p>
<p>The more a country trades, and the more it invests abroad and cultivates foreign direct investment, the greater its economic
development. </p>
<p>In this respect, the Doha Round of the WTO is crucially important. This is certainly true for Canada, as one of the world's
biggest traders, conducting $1.85 billion in trade each day--yes, each day-- with the United States alone. And it is
becoming just as crucial for India.</p>
<p>I think that we in Canada are discovering a new and exciting India and on this mission I am asking the Indian business
community to look beyond the outdated image of Canada that exists in many minds, and focus on the reality of the new
Canada.</p>
<p><strong>The New Canada</strong></p>
<p>It is true that Canada still has an abundance of mountains and pristine lakes and wide open spaces. And it is also true that
we remain one of the world's leading producers of commodities such as oil, gas, pulp and paper, minerals and grains. </p>
<p>But today's Canada is much, much more than that. Let me tell you about the "New Canada" that you, as business people,
need to know about. </p>
<p>This is the highly urbanized, technologically advanced, culturally diverse Canada. This is the Canada that is a world leader
in information and communications technology, with world-renowned companies such as Nortel, JDS-Uniphase and
Research in Motion, whose Blackberry product is quickly becoming a business necessity in North America. </p>
<p>We are the connectivity experts. We are the world's most wired country. We have the world's foremost government on-line
Web site. We have one of the world's most open immigration policies, the world's most open borders, and some of the
world's best universities. We are home to cutting edge research and innovation.</p>
<p>This is the Canada that is home to the world's fourth largest aircraft manufacturer: Bombardier.</p>
<p>This is the Canada that produces 80 percent of the world's animation and special effects software. Among Canadians' many
impressive accomplishments in this area are <em>Lord of the Rings</em>, <em>Titanic</em> and <em>Jurassic Park</em>.</p>
<p>This is the Canada that is a world leader in security technologies such as communications security, identification products
and face recognition technologies. Entrust is a very good example. </p>
<p>This is the Canada that has companies like Celestica, which are very strong performers in electronic manufacturing services
to major world corporations.</p>
<p>This is the Canada of the Canadarm, which is used on all the space shuttles and is now a permanent fixture of the
international space station. </p>
<p>I hope that I have brought home to you in vivid fashion that Canada, too, is a tremendous success waiting to be discovered
by the Indian business community, both as a market for your goods and services and also as an investment destination.</p>
<p><strong>Canada--An Attractive Market for Trade and Investment</strong></p>
<p>Some of you may not be aware of just how impressive Canada's record has been over the past decade. We have enjoyed ten
years of low inflation. We are the only G7 country with a balanced budget this year, our fifth in a row. We are still enjoying
the longest period of uninterrupted growth in 30 years, and the economy is rapidly strengthening as we move further into
2002.</p>
<p>Canada has one of the most competitive business tax regimes in the entire world. In fact, our finance minister has initiated a
series of cuts that will mean that, by 2005, the corporate taxation rate in Canada will be five percentage points lower than
the U.S. average.</p>
<p>It is not surprising, then, that it has become more and more clear to business people and analysts around the world that the
new Canada is a very attractive market for both trade and investment. </p>
<p>The most recent evidence emerged just last week when the IMF, in its latest <em>World Economic Outlook</em>, predicted that
Canada would have the strongest growth of any of the Group of Seven industrial powers in both 2002 and 2003.</p>
<p>Canada has the world's eighth largest economy and is the gateway to the world's richest market, a market of 400 million
consumers and a combined GDP of nearly US$10 trillion. As such, Canada is a very attractive place to do business. </p>
<p>Canada is also a very easy and open market in which to live and operate. We have a highly skilled work force, a world class
infrastructure, an excellent health care system and a low crime rate. What is more, Canada offers highly competitive
business costs. </p>
<p>KPMG, the global accounting and management firm, recently released its latest international cost-comparison study
entitled <em>Competitive Alternatives: Comparing Business Costs in North America, Europe and Japan</em>. </p>
<p>The study shows that Canada is setting the pace globally as the most cost-competitive of the leading industrial countries in
which to do business. After taxes, costs for Canadian cities are generally 10 to 20 percent lower than for U.S. cities.</p>
<p>But, the KPMG study is not the only one to describe Canada as a very attractive site for investment. According to the
Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Canada ranks as the second best place in the world to invest for 2002 to 2006. While
the Netherlands garnered first position, Canada outpaced the U.S. (third), the U.K. (fourth), and Switzerland (fifth). </p>
<p>According to the EIU, Canada's three-position improvement from fifth in 1997 to second in 2001 is the result of a strong
macro-economic environment and market opportunities, an increasingly liberalized policy framework, and excellent
infrastructure. The EIU reports that Canada's attractiveness has also been enhanced by the recent tax cuts I mentioned
earlier.</p>
<p>Another advantage closely linked to taxation is found in the area of government administration and regulations--what we
might call bureaucracy or red tape. </p>
<p>According to the OECD [Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development], Canada has the lowest regulatory
barriers to entrepreneurship among OECD countries, with the exception of the United Kingdom. In Canada, we benefit
from the clarity of our regulations and administration, a relatively low paper burden for business, and the openness of our
processes. </p>
<p><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>
<p>In conclusion, I will just note that many of you are already experiencing the commercial revelation that is Canada. Your
high-tech companies, such as Infosys Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Silverline Technologies, the Birla Group,
the State Bank of India and a host of other Indian firms, large and small, have enjoyed a growing and beneficial relationship
with Canada. I invite you all to explore all that the new Canada has to offer and, in so doing, to generate even stronger
economic and social linkages between our two great countries. </p>
<p>I am very excited by the path that our two countries have embarked upon, and I am confident that as a result we all will
prosper.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
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