India and Canada are set to hold talks to further strengthen the bilateral ties and discuss economic partnership, including a free trade agreement between both nations.
Canada’s Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development,Mary Ng, will be visiting New Delhi from 10-13 March to hold 5th India – Canada Ministerial Dialogue on Trade & Investment (MDTI).
During the MDTI meeting various bilateral trade and investment issues will be discussed in order to further strengthen the bilateral ties and economic partnership including India-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).The meeting will be co-chaired by Union Minister Piyush Goyal.
Bilateral Relations:
Canada and India have long standing bilateral relations based upon shared values of democracy, pluralism, and deep interpersonal ties. Canada is home to one of the largest communities of Indian origin, with around 4% of Canadians being of Indian heritage (1.4 million people).
The deep cultural and political ties between both nations are strengthened by a growing network of official dialogues, agreements, memoranda of understanding and working groups. At the Ministerial level, Canada and India enjoy a strategic partnership underpinned by Ministerial Dialogues on:
- Foreign policy
- Trade and investment
- Finance
- Energy
At the officials level there have been regular working groups that focus on:
- Counter-terrorism
- Agriculture
- Education
- Security
- Science and technology
In 2021, there has been a strong recovery in bilateral trade after the fallout as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with bilateral trade in goods reaching US$ 6.29 billion registering a growth rate of 12% as compared to the previous year. Total bilateral trade including goods and services crossed US$ 11 billion. During the current financial year during April 2021-January 2022, Indian exports to Canada have increased to US$ 3 billion approx. registering a growth of almost 25% over the previous year.
India’s major exports to Canada include drugs and pharmaceutical products, iron & steel products, marine products, cotton fabrics & readymade garments (RMG) and chemicals etc, while key Canadian exports to India comprise pulses, fertilizers, coal and crude petroleum etc.
