Minister says Alberta is India’s ‘preferred energy partner’ following visit

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on January 31, 2026.

Alberta’s minister of Indigenous relations says trading ties between Alberta and India have strengthened during talks at an international forum of global energy leaders.

Rajan Sawhney, who is also a sitting member on the province’s Northwest Coast Oil Pipeline advisory team, recently led a delegation of 27 energy companies from Alberta to participate in the 2026 India Energy Week international energy forum held in Goa, India.

On Friday, Sawhney released a statement highlighting talks with industry leaders and government officials in India.

“Alberta’s leadership in energy, natural gas supply and low-carbon solutions strongly aligns with India’s long-term economic and energy-security priorities,” said Sawhney. “Through this work, Alberta has shown it is a stable, reliable partner with regulatory certainty, expertise and an innovation-driven approach.”

Sawhney says these continued efforts have “made Alberta India’s preferred energy partner, and we will continue working with federal partners to expand trade, support Indigenous economic participation and enhance market access.”

Sawhney says under the renewed Canada-India Ministerial Energy Dialogue elected officials are looking to strengthen trades that will create jobs and drive economic growth.

“This engagement reflects Alberta’s sustained commitment to strengthening energy ties with India,” she said.

According to Brain Jean, minister of energy and minerals, last year the province shipped 81,000 barrels of Canadian crude to India every day through the Gulf Coast, and once again called for co-operation from Ottawa to build a pipeline to Canada’s northwest coast.

“To take full advantage of this agreement, we need to build a high-capacity oil pipeline to Canada’s northwest coast,” said Jean. “A new pipeline would cut shipping time in half and open up economic growth for Alberta and all of Canada.”

Jean says with current political turmoil, “It has never been more important to diversify our trading partners.”

On Monday Sawhney will participate in an Alberta India Chamber of Commerce event held in New Delhi before travelling to Chandigarh for a round of meetings with local business leaders and government officials on Tuesday for two days before returning back to the province.

A full list of travel expenses will be posted on the province’s Travel and Expense Disclosure page.