New Delhi: India and Canada Tuesday agreed to launch negotiations for a new intelligence sharing pact, as ties between the two countries continue to improve at a significant pace.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney in France on the margins of the G7 summit.
“To further deepen defence and security cooperation, the Prime Ministers agreed to launch negotiations on a General Security of Information Agreement (GSOIA). They also welcomed recent exchanges between defence institutions, including the visit of the National Defence College of India to Canada,” the joint press release released after the two leaders met said.
“Prime Minister Modi thanked Prime Minister Carney for his invitation to visit Canada in 2026. Both sides agreed to remain engaged through diplomatic channels to work towards a mutually convenient date for the visit.”
Modi is likely to travel to the North American nation later this year, contingent on the conclusion of negotiations for a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA). The two countries launched negotiations for a CEPA earlier this year when Carney visited India.
It was exactly a year ago, at the previous G7 summit hosted by Canada, that Modi and Carney met for the first time and moved to reset the relationship. Ties between the two countries had cratered following allegations raised by former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau linking Indian officials to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Nijjar, an Indian-designated terrorist, was killed outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia in June 2023. Trudeau made the allegations three months later. India has consistently rejected any links between its officials and the killing of Nijjar. The situation evolved in such a manner that by October 2024, India expelled six Canadian diplomats, while withdrawing six of its own from the North American nation.
It was in August 2025 that both countries almost simultaneously appointed new High Commissioners, and has since seen a quickening thaw in ties. Carney visited India earlier this year.
“The two Prime Ministers welcomed the positive momentum in India–Canada relations and noted with satisfaction the progress achieved since Prime Minister Carney’s successful visit to India in March 2026,” said the press release.
Last month, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal visited Canada along with over 100 Indian businesses. This is the largest business delegation taken by India to Canada.
On Tuesday, Modi and Carney met on the margins of the G7 summit. The summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron is set to end Wednesday. Modi is likely to meet US President Donald Trump Wednesday before departing the French town of Évian-les-Bains for the capital of Paris.
Modi also met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the United Kingdom and Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan (MBZ), the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Tuesday. It was the third meeting this year between Modi and MBZ.
The two leaders met last month, when Modi made a quick visit to Abu Dhabi before carrying on to a four-nation European visit. Modi and Starmer discussed the global situation including wars in West Asia and Ukraine, during their bilateral talks.
Modi also interacted with Trump at various times Tuesday. The India-US ties have faced numerous challenges in the last year through the imposition of tariffs and more recently the global energy crisis unleashed by the war with Iran.
Sources said that during the likely Modi-Trump bilateral Wednesday that the two leaders are likely to discuss expanded energy imports and long-term partnership in this sector. The meeting between the two leaders comes as the US Navy last week killed three Indian seafarers off the coast of Oman.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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