New Delhi Bureau. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney held a “warm and productive” telephone conversation on Tuesday, October 13, reaffirming their commitment to conclude the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) at the earliest opportunity and to double two-way trade by 2030.
In a post on X after the call, Modi said: “Had a warm and productive conversation with Prime Minister Mark Carney. We agreed to build on the positive momentum in India-Canada ties and work towards concrete outcomes across key areas of our Strategic Partnership, including trade, energy, technology, security and people-to-people ties. Together, India and Canada are contributing towards a more stable and prosperous world.”
According to a readout from Carney’s office, the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to conclude CEPA negotiations at the earliest opportunity, supporting efforts to double two-way trade by 2030.
CEPA back on the fast track
The renewed push comes as negotiators build real momentum. Five rounds of CEPA talks are complete, including a session in Ottawa from October 5 to 9, with follow-up meetings planned in November ahead of a possible December signing. The talks were first launched in 2010, relaunched in 2022, paused in 2023 amid a diplomatic rupture, and formally resumed in November 2025.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has also spoken with Canada’s International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu to advance the negotiations.
A reset two years in the making
India–Canada ties deteriorated sharply in 2023 after then prime minister Justin Trudeau alleged a potential Indian link to the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar — an allegation India dismissed as “absurd”. The reset began after Carney took office in 2025. The two leaders have since met in Kananaskis at the G7 summit in June 2025, at Hyderabad House in New Delhi in March 2026, and on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Evian in June 2026.
Ministers on the ground, Modi to visit December
The call was timed with a full diplomatic calendar. Canada has dispatched its largest trade mission to India in over 30 years — led by Sidhu with nearly 300 delegates visiting Mumbai and Bengaluru this week to pursue deals in aerospace, clean technology, ICT, life sciences and agri-food. Foreign Minister Anita Anand is also in New Delhi this week for talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
The leaders welcomed the bilateral security dialogue held in India last week at the National Security Adviser level, and agreed to remain in close contact ahead of Modi’s visit to Canada in December — his first bilateral visit to the country in over a decade, when the trade agreement is expected to be announced.
They also discussed the impact of geopolitical instability on the Indo-Pacific region and the need for trusted partners in energy and agriculture. Carney thanked Modi for his leadership in seeking a peaceful resolution to Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Source: PTI
