New Delhi, [India] August 27 (ANI): Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has encouraged Canada's Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP) to deepen its investments in India's infrastructure sector, including through partnerships and co-investment opportunities.

She is on a four-day visit to Canada as part of her wider nine-day official Canada-US tour from August 25 to September 2.

Sitharaman met Jo Taylor, President and CEO of OTPP, in Toronto on Thursday and appreciated the pension fund's long-term confidence in India and its partnership with the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), including its participation in NIIF Infrastructure Fund II.

The discussions explored opportunities to expand OTPP's infrastructure investments through partnerships and co-investment, particularly in transmission, transport, urban infrastructure and renewable energy, the Ministry of Finance said in a post on X.

Sitharaman also highlighted the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City International Financial Services Centre (GIFT-IFSC) as a platform for global investors and encouraged OTPP to deepen its engagement with India and explore larger investment opportunities.

The outreach comes as India seeks to mobilise more long-term institutional capital for infrastructure development, with pension funds and other global investors seen as important sources of patient capital for large projects.

The Finance Minister's meeting with OTPP was part of a broader engagement with Canadian businesses and financial institutions in Toronto. In a separate meeting, she met Wayne Lee, Managing Director and Head of International Banking at CIBC Bank, and highlighted India's reform-led transformation, stronger institutions, a resilient financial sector and Digital Public Infrastructure.

Sitharaman also pointed to the strengthening of India's banking sector, including stronger capital, improved resolution of stressed assets and enhanced governance, while encouraging CIBC to explore opportunities to establish a presence in India.

At a high-level business roundtable with Canadian corporate leaders, Sitharaman highlighted opportunities across clean technology, critical minerals, energy storage, sustainable infrastructure, agriculture, automotive, aerospace, space, cybersecurity, biotechnology, artificial intelligence and financial services.

The Finance Minister said bilateral trade in goods and services stood at around USD 24 billion in 2024, with India and Canada aiming to take two-way trade towards USD 70 billion annually by 2030.

She emphasised that the opportunity between the two countries extends beyond trade, with Canadian capital, technology, innovation and natural resources complementing India's scale, talent, manufacturing capabilities and expanding domestic market.

For infrastructure investors such as OTPP, the government's pitch is increasingly centred on long-term partnerships across physical infrastructure and clean-energy value chains, with GIFT-IFSC also positioned as a gateway for global investment into India and the wider region. (ANI)