Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will begin his three-day visit to Canada from Monday, accompanied by a business delegation and a team of negotiators, to accelerate trade talks for the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) by December.
Both sides had concluded the second round of negotiations on May 8.
“I would not call the upcoming visit the third round of negotiations, it is more of an extension of the second round,” a commerce ministry official said on the condition of anonymity. The third round of negotiations is scheduled for July in Ottawa.
At the second round of negotiations in New Delhi, the two sides had held detailed discussions across a wide range of chapters, including trade in goods and services, intellectual property, rules of origin, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and technical barriers to trade, among others.
The upcoming visit will mark the first minister-level discussions between India and Canada after the signing of the terms of reference for the free-trade agreement in March. During the visit, the minister is likely to take stock of the progress of the discussions so far, the official said.
The two nations, which had a bilateral trade of $7.96 billion in FY26, aim to raise it to $50 billion by 2030. India’s key exports include drugs & pharmaceuticals, iron & steel, seafood, cotton garments, electronic goods, and chemicals. India had a trade surplus of $1.39 billion with Canada in FY26.
Canada, home to 425,000 Indian students, is also a key market for India’s services exports like telecommunications, computer, and information services, and other business services. The sector is expected to expand further following the conclusion of the CEPA.
India-Canada trade talks have undergone considerable ebb and flow. The two sides resumed discussions after a decade in March 2022 but negotiations paused in September 2023 following the then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations that the Indian government was involved in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canada-based Khalistan separatist, designated as a terrorist by New Delhi. India had strongly denied the allegation.
The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President, S C Ralhan said Goyal’s visit reflects the commitment of both nations to rebuild economic engagement and accelerating discussions on the proposed CEPA. Ralhan said that the proposed trade agreement will open new opportunities for Indian exporters, particularly MSMEs, by improving market access, facilitating smoother trade procedures, and encouraging greater collaboration in technology and innovation-driven sectors. “Amid evolving global trade dynamics and supply chain realignments, stronger India-Canada trade relations can contribute positively to economic resilience and growth for both countries,” he added.
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