New Delhi [India], March 2 (ANI): India and Canada are exploring new avenues for cooperation, with Canada expressing interest in becoming a dialogue partner for the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).

During the Ministry of External Affairs briefing on Canadian PM Mark Carney's official visit to India, Secretary (East) P Kumaran stated that India has supported Canada's interest, citing potential benefits in maritime security, clean energy, and sustainable development.

'Canada wants to be a dialogue partner for the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and that interest was expressed. India has supported that. We think that there are a number of areas in which we can work together with Canada and benefit from its expertise and experience in terms of maritime security, clean energy experience, sustainable development and so on,' he said.

India sees Canada as a high-tech partner for 'Maritime Domain Awareness' (tracking ships and threats) and sustainable 'Blue Economy' development.

Prime Minister Mark Carney presented a bold vision for Canada's military future, which aligns with India's 'Make in India' defence goals.

By moving beyond trade and into defence industrial partnerships, the two nations are signalling a shared commitment to a 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific,' despite the current global volatility.

Although Canada is a Pacific nation, its interests in the Indian Ocean have grown due to shifting supply chains and the need for maritime security.

'We think that IORA, as an organisation, will benefit from a partnership with Canada. In terms of defence, there were several points that were mentioned. Prime Minister Carney mentioned that he would welcome deeper defence relations with India through professional military exchanges, joint training opportunities, a new maritime security partnership, defence supply chain resilience, defence material cooperation, and also some kind of defence industrial partnership and cyber security,' added Kumaran.

Carney stated that Canada is looking to diversify its defence partnerships and procurement away from traditional hubs. To operationalise these goals, a new Joint Secretary-level Defense Dialogue has been established.

'We will soon initiate a Canada-India defence dialogue at the joint secretary level. This will exchange views on respective defence policies, regional and global security developments, and strategic outlooks to identify opportunities. It was also mentioned by Prime Minister Carney that they plan to increase their defence expenditure as a percentage of GDP to align with NATO's new target,' said Kumaran.

Canada is moving to meet NATO's new 5% GDP target (3.5% for core military and 1.5% for infrastructure) by 2035. This involves a massive $500 billion investment ($365B USD / $500B CAD) over the next decade.

'He also particularly noted that they plan to spend about $500 billion over the next decade in the area of upgrading their defence preparedness. He also mentioned that diversification is a priority in terms of defence partnerships and defence procurement. All these open up good opportunities for India and Canada to work together, be it co-development or co-production, etc,' he added.

The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) is a 23-member intergovernmental organisation established in 1997 to promote sustainable growth, security, and economic cooperation among countries bordering the Indian Ocean. Based in Mauritius, IORA focuses on maritime safety, trade facilitation, and the blue economy. (ANI)