New Delhi: Observing that there was tremendous scope for enhanced economic cooperation between India and Canada, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on November 20 invited foreign investment, modern technologies and new management techniques from that country.

''This opens up a number of possibilities for India-Canada cooperation,'' Vajpayee told a visiting Canadian Parliamentary delegation led by Speaker Daniel Philip Hays.

Expressing happiness at the resumption of exchanges of elected representatives, he said India and Canada have much in common.

He said both were Parliamentary democracies, plural societies committed to the rule of law and also committed to the multilateral approach in international affairs.

The Prime Minister said this consonance in approach could be translated into closer bilateral relations. Ties between the two countries slumped in the aftermath of the 1998 'Pokhran' nuclear tests.

Noting that India was an open, transparent, democratic society, Vajpayee said being a developing country the scope for economic cooperation was tremendous.

He said Canadians of Indian origin have been a valuable resource for bilateral understanding and could be catalysts for stronger economic and trade relations. They could also foster exchanges in science and technology and people-to-people interaction.

The Canadian delegation included John Lynch-Stanton, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Mohsina S B Jaer, senator, Deepak Obhrai, MP, Peter Sutherland, Canadian High Commissioner in India. Lok Sabha Secretary General G C Malhotra was also present.

PTI