Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien on Saturday inaugurated a consulate in Chandigarh to improve the flow of people between the two countries by enhancing immigration and visa services. Chretien also conveyed his best wishes to the people on the occasion of Diwali.

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The new Canadian Consulate General will be fully operational by April next year. At present, it offers immigration and trade services. Bhupinder Liddar will be the Consul General in Chandigarh.

In 1997, the Canadian government had opened an office in Chandigarh to provide information on immigration and trade matters in northern India. In November 2002, it was upgraded to a Consulate General given the volume of visa applicants to Canada from the region.

Speaking on the occasion Chretien said that enhanced representation is an essential component "for building the political, economic and cultural framework required for our rapidly expanding relationship."

On his second visit to India, the first was in 1996, Chretien underlined the fact that India was the second largest source of immigrants to Canada. "In 2001, nearly 11% of all new residents in Canada were Indian nationals," he said adding Sikhs alone account for nearly 2% of the country's population.

Canadian Minister for Natural Resources Herb Dhaliwal said that during Chretien's ten-year tenure, ties between the two countries had grown stronger.

Dhaliwal said that Canada had made tremendous progress because "we believe you create a stronger society when everybody is included."

Among those present at the inauguration ceremony were Canadian High Commissioner-designate Lucy Edward, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, Shiromani Akali Dal president Parkash Singh Badal, Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister S S Dhindsa, Punjab Agriculture Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Chandigarh Home Secretary R S Gujral, Consul General Bhupinder Liddar and Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) president Simranjit Singh Mann.

The chief minister said his government would be signing two MoUs with Canada in the field of agro-industry and use of satellite imagery to improve agriculture.