Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and his delegation to 25th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of Commonwealth Countries (CSPOC) held a meeting with Ted Arnott, Speaker of Legislative Assembly of Ontario on Saturday.
Speaking on the occasion, Birla said both India and Canada have enjoyed cordial relations based on shared values and pluralistic cultures that have witnessed a constructive change through increasing economic cooperation, regular high-level visits and people-to-people contact.
An official release said Birla lauded the creation of Canada-India Parliamentary Friendship Group as a welcome step, which will not only increase parliamentary cooperation between legislatures of the two countries but also deepen mutual understanding of the functioning of parliamentary democracy by the exchange of ideas and experiences.
Noting that many possibilities exist to boost bilateral business between India and Canada, Birla said many Canadian compes regularly see India as an attractive investment destination and more than 400 such compes were presently investing in India.
He said India was one of the fast-emerging economies of the world and lowering of taxes and ushering in of 'one nation, one tax' regime has bolstered the confidence of the business community in the Indian economy.
Noting that Canada is also home to people of many cultures, regions and languages, Birla said that there is 'unity in diversity' in both India and Canada.
He expressed satisfaction that the 1.6 million people of Indian origin living in Canada have rendered invaluable contributions in every field and have worked towards the preservation of joint cultural heritage. He invited Ted Arnott to visit India.
( With inputs from ANI )