India & Canada Exploring Cooperation In Diamond Mining

INDIA & CANADA EXPLORING COOPERATION IN DIAMOND MINING

by Diamond Inteligence Magazine

23rd February 2006

India and Canada have agreed to explore the possibility of cooperation in the field of diamond mining on a mutually beneficial basis. This came about at a meeting between Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry and Joseph Cordiano, Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Province of Ontario, Canada, when Nath mooted the idea of investing in diamond mines in Canada for sourcing of rough diamonds which could be then cut and polished in India for exports. He explained how India had emerged as the top exporter of cut and polished diamonds in the world, while there was good scope for Canadian mines being tapped for rough.

Both the Ministers underlined the potential for expanding trade and investment ties between India and Canada. Although annual bilateral trade between India and Canada had grown significantly over the last decade, India's share in Canada's imports is only about 0.5 percent. India is the 37th largest source of direct investment in Canada.