New Delhi, February 27 Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney began a four-day visit to India on Friday, focusing on establishing ambitious bilateral partnerships across key sectors such as trade, energy, and artificial intelligence.
Carney, accompanied by a high-level delegation, arrived in Mumbai, where he will meet with leading Indian and Canadian corporate leaders, financial experts, and innovators.
"India is the world's fastest-growing major economy. We have just arrived in Mumbai to meet with business leaders and forge partnerships that will unlock new opportunities for Canadian workers and businesses," Prime Minister Carney said on social media.
Carney will travel to New Delhi on Sunday and will hold extensive talks with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, on Monday.
It is learnt that following the Modi-Carney talks, the two sides may announce their resolve to soon conclude the proposed comprehensive economic partnership agreement.
In the face of strained trade relations with the Trump administration, Canada is aiming to build a stronger, independent, and more resilient economy.
"In a more uncertain world, Canada is focused on what we can control. We are diversifying our trade and attracting massive new investment to create new opportunities for our workers and businesses," Carney said this week.
"We are forging new partnerships abroad to create greater certainty, security, and prosperity at home," he said.
The Canadian leader's visit to India is also seen as an attempt to reset the ties that came under severe strain following a diplomatic row over the killing of a Khalistani separatist in 2023.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said that both leaders will review the progress achieved till date across diverse areas of the India-Canada strategic partnership, building on their earlier meetings in Kananaskis and Johannesburg in June and November, respectively.
The two prime ministers will also attend the India-Canada CEOs Forum on Monday.
"The visit comes at an important juncture in normalizing India-Canada bilateral relations," the MEA said.
In the last few months, India and Canada have taken several steps to normalize relations.
The India-Canada ties hit a low point following then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations in 2023 of a potential Indian link to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
India had dismissed Trudeau's accusation as "absurd".
In October 2024, India recalled its high commissioner and five other diplomats after Ottawa attempted to link them to the Nijjar case.
India also expelled an equal number of Canadian diplomats.
However, Liberal Party leader Carney's victory in the parliamentary election last April helped begin the process to reset relations.
Subsequently, both sides have already posted their high commissioners in each other's capitals.
In June last year, Prime Minister Modi travelled to Canada's Kananaskis to attend the G7 summit.
Modi and Carney held extensive talks on the margins of the summit with a focus on rebuilding the ties.
