PM Narendra Modi with Canadian PM Mark Carney on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: India and Canada have agreed to restart negotiations for the stalled Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), marking a major step towards normalisation of diplomatic engagements, which were strained following the controversy over the killing of Khalistani separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in 2023.
“We have agreed to begin negotiations on a high-ambition CEPA and double the trade between the two nations by 2030,” Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said at an event here on Monday.
The minister claimed that the proposed CEPA would target to more than double the bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030.
Goyal’s announcement comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg.
Carney has accepted Prime Minister Modi’s invitation to visit India in early 2026, according to a statement issued by the office of the Prime Minister of Canada on Sunday.
“The prime ministers agreed on the importance of regular reciprocal high-level visits, including by ministers and members of the business community,” it said.
Carney’s proposed visit is likely to give a fresh push to the India-Canada free trade negotiation, which has been lingering for almost one-and-a-half decade. The negotiation was first launched in 2010. After 10 rounds of talks it was stalled in 2017.
The negotiations were relaunched in March 2022. However, within just over a year it was paused again after the then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged a potential Indian link to the killing of Nijjar. New Delhi has rejected the allegation.
As per the Canadian prime minister’s office statement, the proposed CEPA would encompass goods, services, investment, agriculture and agri-food, digital trade, mobility, and sustainable development. The two countries have agreed on terms of reference for the proposed negotiations.
“The strengths of Canada and the strengths of India together can become a force multiplier for businesses and investors, and I think the recent meetings that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Mark Carney have had, including the one very recently at the G20 summit, clearly gave a direction for the future of the Canada-India relationship,” Goyal said at an event organised by the Indo-Canadian Business Chamber.
Goyal said the proposed CEPA would strengthen investor confidence and provide a robust framework for addressing issues between the two countries based on mutual respect.
Highlights - Bilateral boost * Major normalisation step after row over Nijjar killing * Proposed agreement aims to take bilateral trade to $50 bn * PM Modi and Canadian PM Carney met during G20 and Carney accepted invite to visit India Major sectors to be covered under proposed CEPA * Goods, services, investment, agriculture and agri-food, digital trade, mobility, and sustainable development Long timeline * India-Canada free trade talks first launched in 2010 * 10 rounds of talks happened * Talks stalled between 2017 and 2022 * Talks relaunched in 2022 * Stalled again in a year over Nijjar killing row
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