Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway Ed Fast is lauding a proposed trade agreement with India after a meeting with Indo-Canadian business leaders on July 7.

According to Fast, who was recently elected to Parliament for a third consecutive term out of Abbotsford, a trade agreement with India could boost Canada's economy by at least $6 billion a year.

"We've just finished our second round negotiations with the Indian government," Fast told the Abbotsford-Mission Times last week.

"Even though our current bilateral trade with India is quite modest at about $4.2 billion a year, the joint study that our respective countries undertook reported that we could expect that could be ramped up to $15 billion a year in bilateral trade."

Fast believes a new agreement between Canada and India could have significant benefits for people in Abbotsford, which sports an Indo-Canadian population of more than 23,000 people according to Statistics Canada numbers from 2006.

"We have quite a few agricultural producers - raspberry and blueberry growers and processors in Abbotsford," said Fast.

"We have some lumber and forestry related companies working in B.C. that we're hoping to open up some markets for.

"It's a real opportunity."

D.J. Sandhu, a professor at the University of the Fraser Valley and the British Columbia Regional Innovation Chair on Canada-India Business and Economic Development, agrees, especially since the U.S. economy continues to struggle.

"The Canadian economy needs this," Sandhu said from India.

"India doesn't need Canada, but Canada needs India. This will be good for future Canadians."

Sandhu said Abbotsford's growing Indo-Canadian population may help build relationships with India's business community, but a trade agreement between both nations would not be exclusive to just one ethnic group.

"This is for all future generations," he said.

Sandhu also applauded the City of Abbotsford and the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce on their recent joint business trip to China in order to help grow future economic opportunities with that nation.

"China and India, these are the two nations Abbotsford and Canada needs to be connected with," he said.

"At the end of the day, Canadians are positioned to take advantage of both."

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