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Canada, India looking at strategic cooperation on trade, energy transformation and security
Canada’s foreign minister Anita Anand is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi on Sunday and will meet with EAM S Jaishankar and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal
Toronto: Ottawa and New Delhi are looking at “establishing a framework for strategic cooperation on issues such as trade diversification, energy transformation and security” when Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand visits India.
Anand is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi on Sunday and will also travel to Mumbai. She will meet with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal during her trip, her first to India as a Minister since she entered politics and became an MP in 2019.
In a statement prior to the trip, Global Affairs Canada, the country’s foreign ministry, said, “During her visit to Delhi, India, Minister Anand will meet with Minister of External Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, as both countries move toward establishing a framework for strategic cooperation on issues such as trade diversification, energy transformation and security.”
“Minister Anand will also travel to Mumbai, India, where she will meet with Canadian and Indian firms working to support investment, job creation and economic opportunity in Canada and India,” it added.
Anand will also travel to Singapore and China following her engagements in India.
“For Canada to be strong at home, we need strong, stable partnerships abroad. I am building bridges and increasing cooperation with India, Singapore and China. In line with Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, I will be working to advance efforts to position Canada as a trusted, reliable partner of choice for Indo-Pacific countries and their economies,” Anand said.
The statement pointed out that India is poised to become the fourth largest economy in the world this year. In that context, it noted, “Canada is committed to supporting and growing its well-established commercial ties with India, including in the agriculture, critical minerals, and energy sectors.”
It pointed out that India was Canada’s seventh-largest goods and services trading partner in 2024.
Anand’s visit to India is part of the step-by-step process of resetting the relationship between the two countries, which commenced after Mark Carney assumed charge as Prime Minister of Canada replacing Justin Trudeau. A breakthrough was achieved when Carney held a bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the margins of the G7 leaders’ summit in Kananaskis in June this year.
