Canada eyes critical mineral supply agreements with India at BRICS

Speaking at the BRICS summit, Canadian High Commissioner Christopher Cooter said Canada, a 'critical mineral superpower,' is looking to be a trusted supplier for India, with agreements on supply chains and investment being a key future outcome.

As India hosts the BRICS summit the world's attention is firmly focussed on this powerful bloc of developing and developed nations. Even non-BRICS nations continue to engage with countries of the bloc especially on trade. One of the key areas is critical mineral and Canada is positioning itself as a key supplier especially for countries like India.

Canada: A 'Critical Mineral Superpower'

Speaking at the sidelines of the BRICS summit, Christopher Cooter High Commissioner of Canada said his country is a critical mineral superpower and is looking at key agreements in this sphere. "Canada is kind of a critical mineral superpower and we are accelerating very rapidly our production of critical minerals. In all of the, our lists are slightly different from your list of critical minerals, but I think we have every single one of the critical minerals that you list. We've got them in abundance in Canada. So we're looking to have agreements both to purchase some of our critical minerals, but even more importantly, to invest in each other's supply chains, so that the processing, the integration to advanced technologies, which this conference is talking about, can take place both in Canada and in India. That's the future that we see," he said.

"We think we can be a reliable source of these minerals more than ever and we can also be a reliable source of technology, and of know-how. You've got tremendous talent here. We've got great talent in Canada. We have some of the finest mining schools, for example. We have some of the best schools that train people in the nuclear, civilian nuclear area, which are scaling up in, and so are we. So, on almost every area that this conference is talking about, there's something that fits very nicely between Canada and India. So a great future that I'm looking forward to," he added.

An 'Island of Security' for India

The High Commissioner said that Canada wants to be an island of security for India especially in the critical minerals supply chain. "When it comes to critical minerals though, what we want to position, with respect to India, is being a trusted supplier, a major supplier, in all of the critical minerals that you're going to need to power your green transition, the development of semiconductors, your industries across the board. We have the resources, we've got the technology, the know-how to do that. But in a world in which there's so much difficulty in trade arrangements, political arrangements, there's insecurity, we want to be kind of an island of security for India," he said.

FTA to Bolster Cooperation

Christopher Cooter said he was hopeful that the India-Canada FTA would also come into effect soon and the collaboration on critical minerals will be a key outcome from that. "The FTA is, as I mentioned, the negotiations are ongoing. We're very hopeful that it will finish. The idea behind the FTA, of course, is to reduce tariffs, but at least as important as that is to signal that we're both open for business with each other. We've seen that with other free trade agreements that you have with other countries, for example, and that's our own experience. I think it will highlight the kind of skills, the technology, the natural resources that we've got in Canada, will kind of open to Indian eyes what we've got available. So it'll have that effect as well as the as the effect of reducing tariffs," he said.

"One of the outcomes we hope that the free trade agreement will allow us to position for. It will become more cost-effective for you to purchase certain minerals from us, which are now tariffed, than it was in the past, giving you another alternative source. This will be good for business, this will be good for consumers in India and that's one of the positive outcomes of these talks. We're building free trade agreements and other forms of cooperation between our countries because they complement each other. Our two countries are like two gears that are coming together, and when they fit, they're going to propel each other forward," he added.

MoU on Critical Mineral Supply Chains

In July this year, Canada and India signed a Memorandum of Understanding to support the development of secure, resilient and diversified critical mineral supply chains. The MoU provides a framework to promote trade and investment between the countries, while facilitating the exchange of technical knowledge and best practices across exploration, mining, beneficiation and processing of critical and strategic minerals. (ANI)

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