Kolkata: India and Canada are discussing a bilateral trade deal with an eye to doubling trade by 2030, Canadian prime minister Mark Carney said in Mumbai on Saturday. It could be signed by the end of 2026. “This is an enormous opportunity for both our countries.. but it is one that is about to move to the next level. We should aim much higher, and we are aiming much higher, and to be more strategic in our partnership. And that’s why, immediately after my election last year, our government set out to renew our relationship with India,” he said.

“I invited Prime Minister Modi to the G7 Summit in Canada. When he came a few weeks later, we agreed to re-engage across security, energy and technology. A few months later, at the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, Prime Minister Modi and I launched a landmark partnership with Australia on critical minerals and technology,” Carney said. He is on a four-day visit to India. India is following a strategy of striking free trade agreements with different countries and economic blocks to raise external trade for increased market access, faster growth and employment generation.

Focus areas

The Canadian PM said food, energy and critical minerals are the two primary focus areas in the dal that is on the negotiation table. “That naturally begins with food and energy, given Canada’s position as a food and energy superpower,” he said, adding that it also extends to nuclear cooperation, from being the most reliable long-term supplier of uranium to building large-scale and SMR (Small Modular Reactors)… We could also be India’s strategic partner in critical minerals and metals for your manufacturing, for your clean tech, and for your nuclear industries. And in the other respect, India can help us to double our grid with clean power by 2040,” he added.

India’s AI and digital skills

PM Carney admitted India’s skills in the sectors of tomorrow such as AI and digital economy. He said that Canada wants to develop these technologies and can benefit from Indian expertise. Defence innovation is another sector where Canada could benefit from India’s expertise, he remarked.

Carney remarked that the bilateral trade amounts to more than $30 billion a year. “The reality is, on the economic side, that level of activity is nowhere near our potential, especially as Canada and India both embark on ambitious transformations. We should aim much higher… and to be more strategic in our partnership,” Carney said. Trade talks between India and Canada started in 2010 but got off the tracks several times.

It is evident that the Canadian PM is visiting New Delhi and Mumbai in an effort to reset ties after relations soured following Ottawa alleging in 2023 that Indian government agents were linked to the murder of Canadian Sikh activist. “Canada is clear-eyed about the world as it is, and we are equally determined to forge a new path in it. We are a confident and ambitious nation, and that confidence, that ambition, brings us here to India,” the Canadian PM said.