Canadian and Indian businesses can benefit from partnerships with each other, even as politics between the two nations becomes increasingly fraught, according to the CEO of the Business Council of Canada.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his delegation were recently in New Delhi for the annual G20 summit, where Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi scolded his Canadian counterpart over Sikh protests in Canada. Trudeau’s government has also paused trade talks with India.

Goldy Hyder, president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada, called relations between the two countries “fragile,” but he added that Canadian industries still need India for growth.

“From a business perspective, we’ve got to carry on, it’s just too big of a market,” he said in a recent television interview.

“Canadian know-how, Canadian capacity is highly regarded and it’s welcome. I think what would help, of course, is if we could get a better environment in which to operate from a trade perspective,” he added.

ENERGY TRANSITION

Hyder said India’s climate change agenda is something Canada can help with, given Canada’s advanced technology in the areas such as carbon capture and nuclear energy.

“There’s a lot of investment and a lot of growth potential there and we can help each other,” he said.