The leader of a Canadian province travels to India to strengthen commercial relations and speaks with S Jaishankar

On Tuesday, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe landed in New Delhi for his second visit as a provincial leader this month.

“Premier Scott Moe is leading a delegation to India today to maintain and grow trade opportunities, increase investment attraction, and showcase Saskatchewan’s capacity to foster food and energy security goals,” his office said in a statement on Tuesday.

One of his first meetings was with S Jaishankar, the External Affairs Minister of India. Moe expressed gratitude for Moe’s “strong support for our partnership and looking forward to deepening our cooperation” in a post on X.

“Saskatchewan is an exporting province and thousands of SK jobs depend on strong export markets,” said Moe in a post after his arrival. Over $1.3 billion in exports from SK to India were made in 2023. Protecting the thousands of jobs in Saskatchewan that depend on exports, as well as maintaining and growing those markets, is my responsibility as Premier. I’m in India this week for that reason.

“This is an important mission for Saskatchewan as we continue to build relationships with India,” he said in the announcement. Over many years, we have developed solid partnerships, which has been essential to creating opportunities and defending employment and communities back home.

Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue, which is hosted by the Observer Research Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs, is one of his upcoming events. Moe’s talk will focus on Saskatchewan’s dependable supply chain and sustainable farming methods. His stay in India will end on February 24.

The province’s top five exports to India include non-durum wheat, wood pulp, lentils, and potash. India’s top exporter of essential goods, such as lentils and potash, is Saskatchewan.

Victor Fedeli, the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation, and Trade for Ontario, visited India on a week-long “sales mission” that included engagements in Bengaluru and Mumbai.

This was the first visit to India by a well-known Canadian politician since September, when tensions between the two countries exploded after the June 18 murder of pro-Khalistan activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia. Days before Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared in the House of Commons that there were “credible allegations” of a possible connection between Indian agents and Nijjar’s murder, negotiations over an Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA) between India and Canada were put on hold. Sub-national relations seem to have restarted with the visits of Fedeli and Moe, even if federal participation has not.