Amritsar: Canadian Prime Minister Stephen
Harper today said his country owes its prosperity to the hard
work and grit of about 1.2 million Punjabi immigrants.
"1.2 million Punjabis out of which more than eight lakh
are from Indian Punjab are settled in Canada and making
significant contribution to strengthening the Canadian
economy," Harper, who was here to pay obeisance at the Golden
Temple, said at a meeting with Punjab Deputy Chief Minister
Sukhbir Singh Badal.
Describing Punjabis as partners in the progress of
Canada, the Premier said they have been contributing to the
country`s development through their hard work and grit for
more than a century.
He also evinced keen interest in exploring feasibility of
setting up joint ventures with the state government in Punjab
for the promotion of agro-based industries and boosting its
power sector, an official release said.
The Deputy CM told the visiting Premier that farmers in
Punjab were not getting remunerative price for their produce
and asked him to explore the possibility of transferring
technical expertise from Canada to help farmers in the state
add more value to their products.
Citing the state`s growing power needs, he said it could
benefit immensely from Canadian expertise in the power sector.
Bureau Report
