OTTAWA, ON (Feb. 26, 2018): The Macdonald Laurier Institute (MLI), the leading independent think tank in Ottawa, with the prestigious Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in New Delhi, are joining forces from their national capitals to establish the ‘Canada-India Initiative,’ ORF VP Samir Saran and MLI Munk Senior Fellow Shuvaloy Majumdar said today.
This collaboration was part of the joint initiatives and agreements announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Prime Minister Narenda Modi.
The Indo-Pacific region is undergoing a tectonic transformation. The recent scale of economic reform in India presents an historic opportunity for engagement with the world’s largest democracy. In India, Canada has a natural partner in the region. As noted in a recent article by Samir Saran and Shuvaloy Majumdar, it would serve Canada’s interests to cultivate a strong relationship with this rising global power. It is imperative to focus Canadian foreign policy on the opportunities of the Indo-Pacific region, to balance China’s rise, and to engage Canadians.
“This capital-to-capital collaboration between our two think tanks is a needed addition to help achieve the mutual prosperity and security of Canada and India,” Majumdar said. “MLI and ORF will pioneer new areas and forge new thinking on the promise of the Canada and India relationship in a dramatically changing world.”
Program activities would take place through a range of conferences, round tables, consultations, signature papers, innovative social media content, exchanges between Canada and India, and joint initiatives.
“We see great promise for both countries in further engagement on a range of sectors spanning energy, technology, defence, rural supply chains and education and skills training,” Saran said. “Foremost, we see the need for those who identify themselves as liberal democracies to work together in order to preserve and serve a global liberal order that is facing serious challenges from within and outside. The MLI and ORF partnership will be an ideal platform for the best ideas and solutions to this end.”
For further information, media are invited to contact:
Cole Hogan
Communications Manager
613.482.8327 x105
cole.hogan@macdonaldlaurier.ca
