India, Canada agree to speed up trade deal negotiations this year

INdia and Canada on tues in agreement(p) to change defence and certificate cooperation and close negotiations on a free trade agreement by the year-end as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney expressed satisfaction at progress in resetting bilateral ties after a troubled patch over the past few years.Modi and Carney, who met on the margins of the G7 Summit in the French resort of Evian, welcomed “positive momentum” in bilateral relations and expressed satisfaction in progress made since the Canadian PM’s visit to India in March, according to a joint press release.“In less than a year, it is our fourth meeting, indicating our commitment to strong India-Canada ties. We reviewed the full range of relations between our nations, notably the ground covered since we last met,” Modi said on social media. The discussions covered cooperation under the four pillars of trade and economy, energy, technology and people-to-people ties, he said.In order to deepen defence and security cooperation, the PMs agreed to launch negotiations on a “General Security of Information Agreement”, which will allow the sharing of sensitive information and intelligence. They welcomed exchanges between defence institutions, including a visit by representatives of India’s National Defence College to Canada.“Both sides expressed satisfaction with the progress in negotiations towards a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and reaffirmed their shared objective of concluding the negotiations in 2026,” the press release said.India-Canada relations cratered when former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau alleged in September 2023 that Indian government agents were linked to the murder of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in the town of Surrey that year. India dismissed the charge as “absurd” and both sides paused talks on a trade deal, downgraded diplomatic relations and expelled dozens of each other’s diplomats.The two sides resumed contacts between security agencies late in 2024 as part of efforts to improve ties, and Carney’s victory in the 2025 general election gave a boost to these steps.The leaders reviewed progress in bilateral economic cooperation, including developments in commercial arrangements related to LNG, LPG and metallurgical coal, the press release said. They welcomed momentum in high-level visits between the two sides, including commerce minister Piyush Goyal’s recent trip to Canada, and looked forward to a Canadian trade mission to India, to be led by the international trade minister later in 2026.While pledging to build a forward-looking strategic partnership, Modi and Carney pointed to complementarities between the Indian and Canadian economies and emphasised the importance of resilient and reliable supply chains in strengthening global energy and food security.Modi and Carney also welcomed the strengthening of institutional engagements between the two governments, including recent meetings of the Joint Science and Technology Committee and the Consular Dialogue. They looked forward to forthcoming dialogues in defence, finance and migration.The two sides are also collaborating under the Canada-India Talent and Innovation Strategy, including measures to strengthen skill development, innovation partnerships and cooperation between educational institutions.Modi expressed India’s support for Canada becoming a dialogue partner of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and the leaders announced the establishment of “Raisina Americas” as a platform to strengthen dialogue, exchanges and cooperation. Modi also thanked Carney for an invitation to visit Canada in 2026, and both sides agreed to work on a mutually convenient date for the trip.