Following his trip to India last week, Canada’s Minister of AI has said the visit was for turning the “shared ambitions” of the two countries “into real opportunity.”
In a statement, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Evan Solomon said, “India is one of the world’s fastest growing digital economies, and this visit was about turning shared ambition into real opportunity.”
“Canada is building practical partnerships that connect our AI talent, research strength and innovation ecosystem with India’s scale, market dynamism and entrepreneurial energy. We are focused on helping our businesses expand into each other’s markets and strengthening two-way investment between our countries. By deepening collaboration between our companies, startups and institutions, we are creating new pathways for growth and high-quality jobs in both Canada and India, while ensuring AI is developed and deployed in ways people can trust,” he added.
Solomon’s visit was for the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi but he also held a trilateral meeting with Minister for Railways, Information and Broadcasting, and Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw and Australia’s Assistant Minister for Science, Technology and the Digital Economy Andrew Charlton. “They reiterated their commitment to trilateral commitment to continuing trilateral collaboration on AI,” a statement from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada said. The meeting followed up on the Australia–Canada–India Technology and Innovation or ACITI Partnership agreed upon by the Prime Ministers of the three countries on the margins of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg in November.
“Canada’s competitive advantage in AI is clear—world-class talent, cutting-edge research and a dynamic innovation ecosystem. This visit to India advanced concrete commercial relationships, strengthened strategic alliances and opened new pathways for investment, technology collaboration and shared economic growth between our two countries,” the statement noted.
Solomon also witnessed the signing of two MoUs during his visit. These signings reflected “the broad trend toward deepening academic and commercial ties”, with eight Canadian universities advancing 11 MOUs with Indian partners in the last few months. “Together, these agreements are accelerating skills development, commercialization pathways and business expansion between Canada and India,” the ISED statement added.