India and Canada Take Next Step Towards Historic Trade Deal

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Toronto: In a significant move towards strengthening bilateral ties, India and Canada's trade ministers held a virtual meeting to discuss the contours of their Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of International Trade Maninder Sidhu led the talks, which aimed to lay the groundwork for forthcoming negotiations. Goyal has agreed to lead a high-level trade and investment delegation to Canada in the new year, marking a major development in the two countries' commercial relationship. In a post on X following the meeting, Goyal described the discussion as 'productive', and highlighted the parties' initial scoping and broad discussions on the overall approach, contours, macro objectives, and modalities for the CEPA. Canada's Minister of International Trade Maninder Sidhu expressed his enthusiasm for welcoming Goyal and his delegation next year, saying, 'We're further strengthening our commercial ties with India.' The upcoming visit will be one of at least three by Indian ministers in the early months of next year, as the two countries engage in ministerial dialogues across various sectors. The CEPA negotiations were announced after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney on the margins of the G20 summit in Johannesburg last month. Carney has highlighted the importance of a trade deal, describing India as a 'reliable trade partner'. He emphasized that a CEPA would enable Canada to have 'more effective trade with India, to scale that trade with them.' The two countries had previously worked on a CEPA but dropped it in favor of the Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA) in 2022. However, with Carney's assumption of charge as Prime Minister this year, the relationship has seen a significant reset, with the breakthrough in relations coming when he held a bilateral with Modi on the margins of the G7 Leaders' Summit in Kananaskis in June. Carney is expected to visit India in the first quarter of next year to give further momentum to bilateral ties.