In this image posted on Nov. 23, 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a meeting with his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney, on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit, in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Credit: PMO via PTI Photo
New Delhi: India and Canada will soon start negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), the prime ministers of the two nations, Narendra Modi and Mark Carney, agreed on Sunday, moving on from the acrimony over the murder of a Khalistani Sikh extremist in the North American country.
New Delhi and Ottawa also agreed on “deeper cooperation in defence and space sectors”.
Modi and Carney held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, and agreed to begin negotiations on a high-ambition CEPA aimed at doubling the bilateral trade between Canada and India – both hit by United States President Donald Trump’s tariff tirade – to $50 billion by 2030.
The meeting between Modi and Carney in Johannesburg was the second between them. They had first met on the sidelines of the G7 summit at Kananaskis, Alberta, in Canada on June 18, when they had agreed to rebuild the bilateral relationship, which had been wrecked by Carney’s predecessor Justin Trudeau’s allegation about New Delhi’s role in the murder of the fugitive Khalistani Sikh extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in the North American nation in 2023.
“Had a very productive meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada. We appreciated the significant momentum in our bilateral ties since our earlier meeting held during the G7 Summit hosted by Canada,” Modi posted on X, adding: “We agreed to further advance our relations in the coming months, particularly in trade, investment, technology and innovation, energy and education.”
He noted that India and Canada had great potential in strengthening trade and investment linkages. “We have set a target of $50 billion by 2030 for our bilateral trade. Canadian Pension Funds are also showing keen interest in Indian companies,” the prime minister wrote on X.