Ahead of likely Canada visit, PM Modi speaks to Carney, discusess trade, tech, defence and economic pact

PM Narendra Modi with his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney. (Reuters/file)

PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi spoke to his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney on Tuesday and discussed “trade, energy, technology, security and defence”.

The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to conclude negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) at the earliest opportunity, supporting efforts to double two-way trade by 2030.

After the phone conversation, PM Modi posted on X: “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,” he said, tagging Carney.

The Canadian PM’s office said, “The prime ministers welcomed the increased engagement between Canada and India over the past year, including in areas such as finance, defence and security, people-to-people ties, and artificial intelligence. They underscored the opportunity to build on this renewed momentum.”

“To that end, the leaders reaffirmed their commitment to conclude negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement at the earliest opportunity, supporting efforts to double two-way trade by 2030. They welcomed the historic Team Canada Trade Mission currently taking place in India, led by the Minister of International Trade, Maninder Sidhu, as well as a visit to New Delhi this week by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anita Anand, to advance shared priorities, including trade, energy, and people-to-people ties,” the Canadian PMO said.

It also said that the leaders discussed the “impacts of geopolitical instability for the Indo-Pacific region and the need for trusted partners in the areas of energy and agriculture. Prime Minister Carney thanked Prime Minister Modi for his leadership in seeking a peaceful resolution to Russia’s war on Ukraine”.

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“The prime ministers welcomed the bilateral security dialogue that took place in India last week as part of ongoing security and law enforcement engagement at the national security advisor level,” it said.

According to the Canadian PMO, the leaders agreed to remain in close contact ahead of PM Modi’s visit to Canada in December.

Modi and Carney had met on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Evian, France, in June this year.

The two Canadian ministers, Maninder Sidhu and Anita Anand, are in India this week to prepare for PM Modi’s visit in December and conclude the trade pact, as Delhi is considering inviting PM Carney as a possible chief guest for the Republic Day Parade in 2027.

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Sources said Anand will hold a bilateral meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, while Sidhu will meet Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal.

Modi is expected to visit Canada just before his likely visit to the US to attend the 21st G20 Leaders’ Summit on December 14–15 at the Trump National Doral Miami resort in Florida.

Anand and Sidhu are expected to speed up negotiations for the trade pact between India and Canada, pushing the process closer to signing.

This is a huge turnaround in India-Canada bilateral ties, which took a severe hit after Carney’s predecessor Justin Trudeau alleged in September 2023 that Indian government agents were involved in the killing of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India rejected the charges, calling them “politically motivated” and “absurd”.

Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 27 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting and writing explainers and analysis on foreign affairs for about 19 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism ‘2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He won the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award, 2023, for the second time for his reporting of the Oct 7 attacks on Israel and the war in Gaza. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury’s special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban’s capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More