Our Bureau
Sydney
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “unique guy” while reflecting on their recent meeting during his high-profile visit to India.
Sharing insights into his interaction with the Indian leader at a seminar hosted by the Lowy Institute in Sydney on Wednesday, Carney expressed admiration for PM Modi’s relentless dedication.
“The guy is unique. He has not taken a day off in 25 years, either as the Chief Minister of Gujarat or as the Prime Minister. Every weekend, he is out campaigning and gets 250,000 people in his rally,” he remarked.
The Canadian Prime Minister further commended the work ethic of PM Modi, noting that he remains “very focused” on providing for the rural population. He specifically highlighted the “transformation of the payment system,” making a “special mention of UPI” as a key achievement of the current administration.
“He gave me a hack that anyone would follow up, which is he’s a person who is very focused on delivery… I’ll call it to the rural household.. So a huge motivation for the financial reform transformations, the payment systems transformation, UPI and other things was to get money directly as you know directly to individuals without leakage, shall we say, in the system in real-time. And to bring people… you know, hundreds of millions of people into the formal economy. And he’s very focused on that aspect of delivery,” Carney said.
Carney’s recent India visit was aimed at resetting bilateral relations which had experienced a downturn in recent years. During the trip, PM Modi and Prime Minister Carney oversaw the exchange of several memorandums of understanding (MoU) covering areas from technology to cultural cooperation.
Describing the current state of affairs as a “new era of partnership,” Prime Minister Carney asserted that Canada is “well-positioned to contribute to India’s energy needs.” He confirmed that the Canadian firm Cameco has entered into a long-term agreement to supply uranium to India.
Addressing the deep people-to-people ties, Carney noted that “nearly two million Canadians trace their roots to India,” with tens of thousands frequently travelling between the two nations. He also confirmed that India and Canada are in the process of renewing a defence cooperation agreement.
