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India expresses readiness to initiate negotiations on investment treaty with Canada
The statement was issued following the meeting between India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her Canadian counterpart Francois-Philippe Champagne in Toronto on Thursday.
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Toronto: India has expressed its readiness to initiate negotiations towards a bilateral investment treaty, according to a joint statement issued after the first Economic and Financial Dialogue between the two countries.
The statement was issued following the meeting between India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her Canadian counterpart Francois-Philippe Champagne in Toronto on Thursday.
It noted that the meeting reflected the “shared commitment” of the two countries to “deepen economic ties, including through enhanced trade and investment, and to deliver tangible outcomes that support economic growth and expand commercial opportunities in both countries”.
They also discussed the mutual benefits of further strengthening bilateral economic and investment ties, to support financial and commercial linkages between India and Canada and support the “shared aspiration” of Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Mark Carney to expand trade to CA$ 70 billion/ ₹4.65 lakh crore by 2030, through a comprehensive economic partnership agreement or CEPA. Negotiators are in an advanced stage in talks over the pact, which the PMs want concluded by the end of this year.
Sitharaman was in favour of discussions towards the foreign investment protection agreement being concluded at around the same time, as she announced during an event in Toronto.
Much of their discussion occurred through the prism of trade and tariff disruption the world is encountering, precipitated by recent action of the Administration of US President Donald Trump and the crisis in West Asia. As Sitharaman pointed out in a press conference after the Dialogue, “The world is going through a profound transformation, there’s just a lot of uncertainty everywhere and the geopolitical and economic realities are constantly evolving. So in this background, closer economic cooperation has become increasingly important to build resilient, sustainable and inclusive economies both in Canada and in India.”
After the Dialogue, the Ministers participated in a discussion at the Canadian Club Toronto, moderated by Canada-India Business Council president and CEO Victor Thomas. They then jointly engaged with key representatives from Canada’s financial services, FinTech, technology, artificial intelligence, infrastructure, and energy and natural resources sectors. “These engagements highlighted shared priorities and opportunities for fostering long-term growth and expanding collaboration among businesses, financial institutions and other stakeholders in both countries,” the statement said.
Among the potential outcomes could be to broaden the use of UPI in Canada through partnerships with payment service providers. Sitharaman also focused on long-term investment made by Canadian pension plans in India, totalling nearly CA$ 110 billion, and invited Canadian capital as the country offers “scale, opportunity and a strong growth trajectory.”
