Prime Minister Stephen Harper said today from India's bustling hi-tech centre of Bangalore that, re-election or not, U.S. President Barack Obama still faces an economy that will continue to grow slowly, meaning Canada must look to new markets.
"The reality is the United States, while it will remain our largest economic partner for the foreseeable future, it will likely continue to be a slow-growing economy," said Harper, who is on a trade mission in India. "[For Canada] to realize its full economic potential, it will have to diversify to countries like India that are growing and expected to grow much more rapidly."
Referring to the looming fiscal crisis in the U.S. – the so-called fiscal cliff – Harper added that "the world would be immensely helped if the U.S. could deal with this immediate issue and if the Europeans could accelerate progress on their debt issues."
Harper also repeated his complaint that trade talks with India are moving too slowly.
"Are we frustrated? I think I've been very clear that I think we need to go farther and faster," he said.
But Harper added: "This country is a democracy. And that means the government cannot dictate a whole set of policy changes to have them the next day."
As for India's repeated complaints about Sikh extremism in Canada, Harper said his government supports a united India but could not violate free speech.
"The vast majority of Canadians, and I think the vast majority of Indo-Canadians, have no desire to see the revival of old hostilities in this great country here in India." However, he said, "we can't interfere with the right of political freedom of expression."
Cameras followed Harper and his wife Thursday as they visited the Sri Someshwara Swamy Temple and a movie showing with Indian schoolchildren at the opening of the city's new IMAX theatre.
Harper also met with Hans Raj Bhardwaj, the state governor of Karnataka, at his official residence and participated in another business roundtable, his second on this trip.
His tour continues in Bangalore on Friday, then flies in the evening to Manila for a one-day visit on Saturday. He's scheduled to mark Remembrance Day with a ceremony in Hong Kong on Sunday before heading home.
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