Canada's Foreign Minister Anand sees "step-by-step" progress in reset with India

Ottawa [Canada], November 25 (ANI): Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand outlined how Ottawa and New Delhi have been advancing their diplomatic engagement "step by step," explaining the measures both countries have taken to stabilise and rebuild ties.

In an interview with CBC News' Power & Politics, Anand said, "Since the beginning, we've been taking this relationship step by step. The first step, of course, is to ensure that the security dialogue between the countries continues. The next step, of course, was the mutual appointment of high commissioners."

She noted that the process moved forward after both sides issued a joint framework setting out areas of cooperation. "The third step was the joint statement and framework that we put in place, indicating the importance of the rule of law and the security and law enforcement dialogue, as well as the various areas, the sectors on which we can potentially collaborate," she said.

Building on this momentum, Anand said these efforts paved the way for the leaders' engagement at the G20 Summit, where the trade roadmap was revived. "That brings us to the meeting between the leaders at the G20, in which the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement was launched in terms of the negotiations by the two leaders moving forward with alacrity to ensure that many sectors of the economy will be subsumed in those negotiations with an agreement as soon as possible," she said.

Just a day after Anand detailed the renewed diplomatic track, India and Canada advanced that process further. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal confirmed that both sides have agreed to resume negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and aim to raise bilateral trade to USD 50 billion by 2030.

Speaking at an event, Goyal said a high-quality agreement would reflect renewed trust and provide "confidence to investors, businesses of both sides." He noted, "We have agreed to begin negotiations on a high-ambition CEPA and double the trade between the two nations by 2030."

Reinforcing the idea of complementary strengths, Goyal described India and Canada as "natural allies." He added that each country can "learn from" and "offer" much to the other, pointing to opportunities in critical minerals, processing technologies and nuclear energy--especially regarding uranium supplies. He said deeper cooperation could strengthen supply-chain resilience on both sides.

The move to revive negotiations comes after Canada paused the process in 2023, following tensions triggered by allegations from then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau regarding the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar--claims India rejected as "absurd."

Momentum returned after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Kananaskis in June. The two leaders later reviewed ties at the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, where they welcomed progress made under the Australia-Canada-India Technology and Innovation (ACITI) Partnership.

As the diplomatic and trade track picked up, bilateral economic indicators also reflected steady engagement. In 2024-25, India's exports to Canada rose 9.8 per cent to USD 4.22 billion, while imports stood at USD 4.44 billion. Total trade in goods and services reached USD 18.38 billion in 2023.

Looking ahead, Goyal highlighted emerging areas for collaboration, including AI, data centres, quantum computing and machine learning. He called for a detailed roadmap with sector-specific plans and measurable outcomes, emphasising the need to reconvene the CEO Forum in early 2026.

He also identified aerospace, defence, critical energy, and advanced manufacturing as additional areas where cooperation could deepen. (ANI)

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