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India, Canada hold trade talks to boost investment, renew economic partnership
The two ministers co-chaired the 7th India-Canada Ministerial Dialogue on Trade and Investment (MDTI) in New Delhi
New Delhi: Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal and Canada’s minister of export promotion, international trade and economic development Maninder Sidhu on Thursday discussed avenues to strengthen bilateral trade, promote investments and deepen cooperation between the two countries.
The two ministers on Thursday co-chaired the 7th India-Canada Ministerial Dialogue on Trade and Investment (MDTI) in New Delhi, which marked “a renewed phase of engagement aimed at reinvigorating bilateral trade and investment ties and setting a forward-looking agenda for cooperation” in line with the joint statement, a commerce ministry statement said.
The joint statement referred to, “Renewing Momentum towards a Stronger Partnership” , was issued on October 13, 2025 and identified trade as the cornerstone of bilateral economic growth and resilience. It was issued after a meeting between Anita Anand, Canada’s foreign minister, with her Indian counterpart S Jaishankar, in New Delhi.
On Thursday, both Goyal and Sidhu reaffirmed the enduring strength of the India-Canada relationship, anchored in shared democratic values, cultural diversity, and growing economic complementarities, the commerce ministry said in the statement.
“They highlighted the vital role of the vibrant Indian diaspora of nearly 2.9 million and over 427,000 Indian students in Canada, whose contributions continue to enrich both societies and serve as a bridge fostering deeper understanding, innovation, and economic collaboration,” the commerce ministry said in its statement.
Bilateral trade in goods and services between India and Canada stood at $18.38 billion in 2023. The ministers welcomed the steady rise in two-way investments, and reaffirmed their commitment to fostering an open, transparent, and predictable business environment that supports sustainable and inclusive growth, it said.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar is currently in Canada , participating in the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting.
The ministerial dialogue covered a wide-ranging agenda encompassing key areas of economic cooperation. Discussions focused on strengthening bilateral economic ties and advancing sectoral collaboration across priority domains, including nutritional security, supply chain resilience, health sector cooperation, and investment facilitation.
The two ministers also reviewed recent trade policy developments, covering trade in goods and services, and exchanged views to enhance market access, promote regulatory alignment, and support long-term economic resilience, it said.
Concluding the dialogue, the ministers reaffirmed their shared vision to renew and revitalize the India–Canada economic partnership, grounded in mutual respect, trust, and a spirit of collaboration. They agreed to translate today’s constructive discussions into tangible outcomes that advance shared prosperity and reflect the depth and dynamism, to define India-Canada relations, it said.
Sidhu’s visit highlights the normalisation of ties between the two countries.
India-Canada relations cratered when former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau alleged in September 2023 that Indian government agents were linked to the murder of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in the town of Surrey that year. India dismissed the charge as “absurd” and both sides paused talks on a trade deal, downgraded diplomatic relations and expelled dozens of each other’s diplomats.
Earlier this year PM Narendra Modi met Mark Carney on the margins of the G7 Summit in Canada -- the first contact between the top leadership of the two sides in more than 20 months -- and agreed on a range of “calibrated and constructive” steps to restore stability to bilateral ties, including the posting of envoys to each other’s capitals.
Senior diplomats Dinesh Patnaik and Christopher Cooter took over as respective high commissioners.
Since then, Anand and Jaishankar have met thrice, and India’s finance minister Niramala Sitharaman is expected to visit Canada later this month.
