E-Paper
India, Canada agree to start talks on CEPA
India and Canada will negotiate a comprehensive economic partnership to double trade to $50 billion by 2030, enhancing ties across various sectors.
India and Canada have agreed to commence negotiations on a high ambition comprehensive economic partnership agreement or CEPA. That decision was taken at a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney on the margins of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg on Sunday.
The objective of the CEPA negotiations is to double bilateral trade to US$ 50 billion by 2030.
After meeting with Carney on Sunday, Modi said the two leaders expressed appreciation for the “significant momentum” in the bilateral relationship and they agreed to “further advance” ties across sectors.
In a post on X following the bilateral meeting on the margins of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa on Sunday, Modi said, “Had a very productive meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada. We appreciated the significant momentum in our bilateral ties since our earlier meeting held during the G7 Summit hosted by Canada.”
He added, “We agreed to further advance our relations in the coming months, particularly in trade, investment, technology and innovation, energy and education.”
Modi noted that the two countries “have great potential in strengthening trade and investment linkages” and have set a “target” of US$ 50 billion 2030 for bilateral trade. He also pointed out that Canadian Pension Funds “are also showing keen interest in Indian companies.”
He said the two leaders will meet again in the “near future” and that they “agreed to unlock the potential for deeper cooperation in defence and space sectors.”
A release from the Ministry of External Affairs said both sides “reaffirmed” their longstanding civil nuclear operation and expanding that with measures including through long-term uranium supply arrangements.
Earlier in the day, Carney described India as a reliable trading partner. During the course of a press conference in Johannesburg on Sunday, Carney was asked whether he considered India a reliable trading partner and he responded, “Yes, we do actually.”
He added that India and Canada do not have a comprehensive economic partnership agreement or CEPA with “one of the world’s largest and fastest growing economies.”
“The ability to have more effective trade with them, to scale that trade with them, would be greatly helped by that,” he stressed.
He said Canada has a “strong commercial relationship with India’ with Canadian companies “one of the largest foreign investors.” In that context, he said, “What we’re looking to do is put that down on a sound footing through a potential trade agreement.”
He said such an agreement would give protections to Canadian businesses, provide a clear set of rules and a dispute mechanism.
He also said as Canada looks to diversify its trade, it is looking at India’s expertise in renewable energy sectors like solar and wind. “We’ll diversify in that respect from China, which is the dominant player there,” he said, adding, “India, South Korea are really the two main opportunities.”
This was their first bilateral since they met on the margins of the G7 leaders’ summit in Kananaskis in June this year. That meeting provided a breakthrough engagement that lead to the restoration of high commissioners to the two capitals and marked the reset in the relationship which had cratered under Carney’s predecessor Justin Trudeau who had alleged in the House of Commons on September 18, 2023, that there were “credible links” of a potential link between Indian agents and the killing of pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia three months earlier. India had dismissed the accusation as “absurd” and “motivated.”
Engagement between India and Canada has progressed since Carney assumed charge as PM in March this year. The two countries along with Australia, announced trilateral cooperation on critical and emerging technologies on Saturday. The Australia-Canada-India Technology and Innovation or ACITI Partnership “will deepen collaboration between democratic partners across three continents and three oceans in emerging technologies, support diversification of supply chains, clean energy and mass adoption of AI,” Modi posted on X.
In another post, the Canadian Prime Minister noted, “We’ll work more closely together on clean energy, critical minerals, and AI to unlock new research, more opportunities, and greater prosperity.
