Modi and Carney pledge trade expansion, put diplomatic crisis in the rearview

INdia and Canada on mon firmed up agreements on vital minerals and the furnish of atomic number 92 ore and finalised the terms of cite for negotiations on a free trade deal, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney pledged to build on the normalisation of ties by expanding trade and deepening security cooperation.Carney is on a four-day visit to India as part of efforts by the two sides to rebuild ties that went into a tailspin in 2023 after former PM Justin Trudeau alleged Indian government agents were linked to the killing of a Khalistani separatist. The rapprochement began when Modi met Carney on the margins of the G7 Summit in Canada last June and the two sides later unveiled a roadmap to reset the relationship.Besides a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the mining and processing of critical minerals, India’s Department of Atomic Energy and Canada’s Cameco, one of the world’s largest publicly traded uranium companies, signed a $2.6-billion agreement for the supply of 22 million pounds of uranium ore during 2027-2035. The two sides reiterated plans to increase two-way trade, with Modi and Carney emphasising the importance of bolstering commerce and investments by concluding a trade deal within the year.“Since our first meeting, our relations have been filled with new energy, mutual trust and positivity. I credit my friend PM Carney for the growing momentum in every area of cooperation,” Modi said at a joint media interaction, speaking in Hindi.“Our goal is to reach $50 billion in trade by 2030. Unlocking the full potential of economic cooperation is our priority. Therefore, we have decided to finalise the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) soon,” Modi said.Carney, the first Canadian PM to visit India in eight years, backed stronger trade and defence ties in a world witnessing “profound transformation”. Speaking in French, he said: “Like India, we know that the certainties that have structured trade, security, finance and diplomacy for more than a generation have been overturned.”The two countries, Carney said, aim to conclude the CEPA “by the end of this year” to “reduce barriers, increase certainty, unlock opportunity for exporters, investors and workers”.A little more than a month after his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos that called for “middle powers” to join hands to counter great power rivalry, Carney said India and Canada are expanding a “valued partnership” to chart their own course for the future. Nostalgia is not a strategy and countries with the partnerships to “build a more inclusive, sustainable and prosperous future” will succeed in this new era, he said.Modi noted that Canada’s pension funds have invested $100 billion in India, reflecting their “deep belief” in the country’s growth, while Carney said these funds have $2 trillion dollars in capital and see potential for growth, especially in infrastructure.Bilateral trade in goods was worth Canadian $13.32 billion in 2024, while bilateral trade in services was valued at Canadian $19.61 billion in the same period. The two sides had called off talks on a free trade agreement shortly before relations cratered when Trudeau alleged the Indian side was involved in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who had been designated a terrorist by New Delhi. India dismissed the accusations as “absurd” and the two sides curtailed their visa regimes and expelled dozens of diplomats as ties deteriorated.Work on resetting the relationship began with behind-the-scenes meetings between security and intelligence officials of the two sides late in 2024. These discussions, which helped address the security concerns of both sides, set the stage for meetings of the top leadership following Carney’s win in the general election last April.P Kumaran, secretary (East) in the external affairs ministry, told a media briefing that Carney’s visit marked an “important inflection point” in bilateral ties, and that the normalisation of ties has begun to translate into tangible economic outcomes. Over the past year, both sides steadily stabilised and normalised ties, and the renewed partnership will be focused on trusted technology eco-systems, energy security and talent mobility, he said.The two sides also decided to launch the India-Canada Defence Dialogue, and Modi said this growing cooperation in defence and security reflects “deep mutual trust and the maturity of our relationship”. He added, “We will work to enhance defence industries, maritime domain awareness and military exchanges.”Carney said the two sides will renew defence and security cooperation through maritime collaboration in the Indo-Pacific and “practical coordination and cooperation on our shared security interests”.Against the backdrop of India’s burgeoning energy and rare-earth needs, Carney pitched Canada as a reliable source of gas and critical minerals. “As India seeks access to critical minerals for its manufacturing, its clean tech and its nuclear plans, Canada’s resource base and world-leading companies position it as a strategic partner,” he said.Besides the supply of fuel for nuclear reactors, the two sides agreed to work together on small modular reactors (SMRs) and advanced conventional reactors. Canada will join the International Solar Alliance and the Global Biofuel Alliance, and the two sides will organise a bilateral Renewable Energy and Storage Summit this year.Pointing to India’s plans to increase renewable energy capacity by 500 GW and to double the share of LNG in its energy mix by 2030, Carney highlighted Canada’s role as a reliable supplier of the world’s lowest-carbon LNG. He also said India could be an important partner in Canada’s drive to double the size of the electricity grid by 2050.Carney emphasised the importance of people-to-people ties between the two sides, highlighting the role of the nearly 2 million-strong Canadian Indian community in business, science, culture and government. He said Canada is home to 400,000 Indians students, double the number in the US and four times the figure for the UK.The new Canada-India Talent and Innovation Strategy, with 13 partnerships to deepen education ties, will include collaborations with McGill University, University of Toronto and University of British Columbia in areas such as AI, health sciences and digital architecture.“People-to-people ties are the driving force of our relationship…New partnerships between several universities in AI, healthcare, agriculture and innovation are being announced. We also agreed on Canadian universities opening campuses in India,” Modi said.India and Canada also concluded a trilateral MoU with Australia on cooperation in technology and innovation, and agreed to set up a pulse protein centre of excellence to strengthen food processing and nutrition-sensitive food systems. Canada is among the largest suppliers of pulses to India.Another MoU between the All India Council for Technical Education and Canada’s Mitacs for the Globalink Research Internships will provide fully funded internships for 300 Indian students annually for three years in disciplines such as science, engineering, mathematics, and the humanities. The two sides also finalised MoUs to promote renewable energy and cultural cooperation. A total of 24 MoUs and partnerships were concluded by universities and institutions in areas such as AI, healthcare and innovation.