New Delhi: India and Canada are set to reconvene the Joint Commission on Trade in the north American nation at the end of May, or early June, as the two countries look to step up their trade partnership and finalise a free trade agreement before the end of this calendar year.
“With Canada, we have broadly zeroed in at the end of May, or some time in June will be having a joint commission to expand trade in Canada,” Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal told a press briefing Thursday.
“We will be sending the largest-ever business delegation ever to go from India to any country. Both the Commerce Ministry and DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade) are working with the interest groups, keen to expand trade between the two countries,” Goyal said.
He said New Delhi is looking to expand investment partnership so that greater pools of capital are drawn towards India.
“There will also be those working in the investment sector joining this delegation. We find Canada to be a complementary economy. They barely compete with us in any critical item. As has been India’s style, we believe in grabbing the low hanging fruits, focusing on issues that are non-sensitive to either country and focus on complementary that is a win-win for both sides.”
The agreement to send the business delegation and reconvene the joint commission on trade was made after Goyal met his Canadian counterpart Maninder Sidhu last week on the margins of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Meeting in the Cameroonian capital of Yaounde.
Goyal highlighted that in the meeting, the two discussed the “next steps to expand” the bilateral trade between the two countries, including fast-tracking negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
The thaw between India and Canada has picked up pace, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney making an official visit to Mumbai and New Delhi last month. The two prime ministers held an exhaustive bilateral discussion that overshot the scheduled time at the Hyderabad House on 2 March.
The bilateral ties between the two countries cratered in September 2023 after then Canadian PM Justin Trudeau accused Indian agents of being involved in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Nijjar, a designated terrorist in India, was killed outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia in June 2023.
India rejected the allegations. The case is currently within the Canadian judicial process, with four Indians arrested and charged with the killing. However, Trudeau’s public pronouncement on the floor of the Canadian Parliament, led to a difficult period in ties, where New Delhi expelled six Canadian diplomats in October 2024 and withdrew six Indian diplomats.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) at the time accused India of interference in Canada’s affairs, another charge rejected by New Delhi. However, in recent weeks, the RCMP said that India is no longer involved in foreign interference. India and Canada have agreed to set up a liaison office in their respective foreign missions to keep communication flowing on security issues.
The two countries are keen to expand trade ties, especially in sectors such as energy. Canada is looking to expand its production capacities and could become a key supplier of crude and natural gas for India in the next few years. The two countries are focused on doubling trade to CAD 50 billion by 2030.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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