India and Canada discuss measures for promoting bilateral trade & investments

New Delhi: India and Canada on Thursday discussed measures to boost bilateral trade and investment, with a focus on strengthening cooperation in supply chain resilience, health, and nutritional security.

The talks took place during the India-Canada Ministerial Dialogue on Trade and Investment (MDTI), co-chaired by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Canada’s Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development Maninder Sidhu.

Both ministers reaffirmed their commitment to promoting an open and predictable business environ-ment that supports sustainable growth, the Commerce Ministry said.

They reviewed recent trade poli-cy developments, explored ways to enhance market access, align regulations, and improve invest-ment facilitation to strengthen long-term economic resilience.

Bilateral trade in goods and services between the two nations was valued at $18.38 billion in 2023.

India’s exports to Canada rose 9.8 per cent to $4.22 billion in 2024-25, while imports fell 2.3 per cent to $4.44 billion.

Negotiations on a free trade agreement, known as the Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA), remain paused after Canada halted talks in 2023 amid diplomatic tensions following former Prime Minis-ter Justin Trudeau’s allegations linking India to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar — claims New Delhi rejected

as “absurd.”

However, recent high-level exchanges, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Cana-dian counterpart Mark Carney on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in June, have helped revive engage-ment.

The MDTI discussions are seen as a step toward rebuilding economic momentum between the two countries.