New Delhi/Ontario: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has accepted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation to visit India next year, even as the two countries have embarked on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement to double trade (between the two countries) to $50 billion (CAD 70 billion) by 2030.
The two nations have agreed to “enhance diplomatic staffing levels to meet growing consular demands and to strengthen people-to-people linkages, including through reciprocal knowledge transfer”.
The comprehensive trade talks that the two countries will soon embark on will be more expensive than the earlier ones that were discontinued in September 2023 because of a diplomatic row, two people aware of the development said, requesting anonymity.
India was Canada’s seventh-largest goods and services trading partner in 2024 with $30.9 billion in two-way trade. Prime Minister Modi held a bilateral meeting with Carney on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, in which he noted that India has set a target of $50 billion by 2030 for bilateral trade between the two countries.
The Prime Minister said that both countries have agreed to unlock the potential for deeper cooperation in the defence and space sectors and meet again in the near future. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand and other officials were present during the meeting.
Earlier this month, EAM Jaishankar met his Canadian counterpart Anand on the sidelines of the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Niagara and expressed hope for rebuilding a stronger partnership. During the meeting, the EAM praised the progress made under the New Roadmap 2025, aimed at enhancing bilateral ties between India and Canada.
