As India and Canada prepare to launch negotiations on the proposed free trade agreement (FTA), Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal, held discussions with his Canadian counterpart, Maninder Sidhu, on Wednesday to discuss the macro objectives, overall approach and modalities of the pact.
“Held a productive discussion with Minister Sidhu to advance the trade and commercial engagement with Canada. We undertook initial scoping and broad discussions on the overall approach, contours, macro objectives and modalities as part of preparations for the launch of CEPA negotiations,” Goyal said in a social media post, adding that he slated to lead a high-level trade and investment delegation to Canada next year.
The two sides are in talks to finalise a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) that helps increase two-way trade in goods and services to USD 50 billion by 2030, from only USD 18.38 billion recorded in 2023.
CEPA is a kind of free trade agreement in which two countries either significantly reduce or eliminate customs duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them. They also ease norms for the movement of skilled professionals and attract investments.
Indian and Canadian ties hit a roadblock in 2023 after Canada paused negotiations for the agreement with India following then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations of a potential Indian link to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Earlier, they had held over half a dozen rounds of talks on the proposed pact.
Canada, which is home to about 2.9 million Indian diasporas and over 4,27,000 Indian students, exported goods and services worth USD 4.22 billion in 2024-25 from USD 3.84 billion in 2023-24.
Also Read: Ottawa working fast to secure India trade deal: Canada Minister
Imports, however, declined 2.33 per cent to USD 4.44 billion in the last fiscal from USD 4.55 billion in 2023-24.
The renewed vibrancy in ties between the two countries followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's talks with his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney on the sidelines of the G7 summit at Canada’s Kananaskis in June.
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