India, Canada to kick off 5th round of trade talks tomorrow

New Delhi: India and Canada will kick off the fifth round of negotiations for their proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in Ottawa on Monday as both sides aim to conclude the trade pact by the end of 2026.

The five-day round, led by the chief negotiators of the two countries, will continue till October 9. The previous round concluded in New Delhi on September 18, with officials now pushing for faster progress towards a final agreement.

The trade negotiations have gained additional momentum as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Canada around December, when the two countries plan to conclude the final deal. Meanwhile, Canada's Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu is scheduled to visit New Delhi later this month with a 300-member business delegation.

Prime Minister Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney set a year-end target to complete the negotiations for the CEPA between the two countries and agreed to deepen bilateral collaboration in the energy and critical mineral sectors during their meeting in New Delhi in March this year.

The leaders expressed confidence that a comprehensive trade framework would serve as a durable economic anchor for the partnership and support the shared aspiration of expanding bilateral trade to CAD 70 billion (Rs 4.65 lakh crore) by 2030, according to the joint statement issued after their summit.

India-Canada bilateral trade in goods stood at $8.66 billion in 2024-25, while India’s exports to the country touched $4.22 billion.

Major items of India’s exports to Canada include pharmaceutical products, machinery parts and mechanical appliances, iron & steel articles, electronic goods, organic chemicals, jewellery, gems & precious stones, garments and textiles, seafood, engineering goods and auto parts. India’s major imports from Canada include pulses, fertilisers, mineral fuels, wood pulp, gems & precious stones, aircraft parts, machinery parts, and iron and aluminium scrap.

India’s IT sector is the main contributor to services exports to Canada.

PM Carney’s visit to India set the tone for a marked improvement in diplomatic ties between the two countries that had hit rock bottom during his predecessor Justin Trudeau’s tenure. The Trudeau government was seen to be encouraging Sikh extremists to pursue an anti-India agenda in Canada as part of their electoral politics.

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