India, Canada eye doubling trade to $50 billion by 2030

In the strongest signal yet that the India-Canada reset is firmly back on track, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney on Sunday agreed to reopen negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), with the goal of doubling bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030.

The two leaders met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg — their second engagement this year after the June 2025 outreach at Kananaskis and the subsequent rollout of a new bilateral roadmap in October.

Officials described the conversation as “forward-looking”, underlining that both New Delhi and Ottawa now see economic and strategic cooperation as the centre piece of the recalibrated relationship.

Modi and Carney welcomed the launch of the Australia-Canada-India Technology and Innovation Partnership, which aims to deepen trilateral collaboration in critical technologies, nuclear energy, secure supply chains and artificial intelligence. Carney also conveyed strong support for India’s AI Summit scheduled for February 2026.

The two sides noted the tangible gains, including revived exchanges, ministerial-level coordination and renewed confidence among businesses, in the past few months. They discussed expanding cooperation in defence, education, investment, space, science and technology and energy.

With civil nuclear ties long anchored in trust, the leaders reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen this pillar further, noting ongoing discussions on long-term uranium supply arrangements.

Both leaders stressed the need for sustained high-level engagement to maintain the current momentum. Modi also invited Carney to visit India soon, signalling that the rapid thaw in ties is set to translate into a broader, more durable strategic partnership.