New Delhi, March 2 India and Canada have launched negotiations for a free trade agreement and aim to finalize the agreement soon, an official statement said on Monday.
The agreement is officially known as the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), and the negotiations will cover trade in goods, services, and other mutually agreed policy areas.
The Terms of Reference (ToR) for the agreement were signed by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and his Canadian counterpart Maninder Sidhu here.
The agreement was exchanged in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada at Hyderabad House here.
"India and Canada launched negotiations for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) today in New Delhi and decided to finalize it soon," the commerce ministry said.
The ToR for the negotiations will provide the format, frequency, and approach for the CEPA negotiations. It will serve as a guide to facilitate negotiations in order to conclude an ambitious, balanced, and mutually beneficial agreement.
The launch marks the resumption of negotiations, as the two countries had earlier engaged in a similar exercise, but Canada paused it in 2023. Now they have decided to resume talks from the beginning as a lot has changed on the global trade front during these two years.
The negotiations are important as the two sides have set a target to increase bilateral trade to USD 50 billion by 2030. Currently, it stood at USD 8.66 billion in 2024-25 (USD 4.22 billion exports and USD 4.44 billion imports).
Canada represents a market of 41.65 million people (2025) and a GDP of USD 2.34 trillion at purchasing power parity.
Key exports from India to Canada include pharmaceuticals, iron and steel, seafood, cotton garments, electronic goods and chemicals, among others. Key imports include pulses, pearls and semi-precious stones, coal, fertilizer, paper and petroleum crude.
India's main services sector exports include telecommunications, computer and information services, and other business services.
"These sectors hold significant future growth potential and are expected to expand further following the conclusion of the CEPA," it said.
Canada is also home to over 425,000 Indian students and a strong Indian community.
Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce, Brij Mohan Mishra, is the chief negotiator from the Indian side. Bruce Christie is Canada's chief negotiator.
