As Canada minister calls on him, PM Modi backs momentum in ties

NEW DELHI: India and Canada reviewed progress in their ties across trade and investment, education, energy, defence and people-to-people exchanges as Canadian foreign minister Anita Anand called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday and also held a meeting with her counterpart S Jaishankar.Modi emphasised the importance of sustaining the momentum in bilateral engagement and translating it into tangible outcomes, including through the early conclusion of negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), and said he was looking forward to continuing his engagements with Canadian PM Mark Carney."India is committed to building a constructive and forward-looking strategic partnership with Canada that delivers tangible benefits to the people of both countries," Modi said in a post on X, calling the meeting productive.Modi is set to visit Canada in Dec during which both sides are expected to sign the CEPA under discussion.In the meeting with Jaishankar, Anand highlighted the importance that Canada attaches to India as a partner, particularly at a time of geopolitical uncertainty.

"Minister Anand and minister Jaishankar discussed the positive momentum in the renewed Canada-India Strategic Partnership, underpinned by sustained high-level engagement between the two countries over the last year," said a Canadian readout.

The ministers also reviewed progress made since the launch of the joint roadmap during Anand's visit last year and discussed ways to further advance roadmap priorities, including trade, energy, people-to-people ties and security and defence cooperation. The ministers discussed other geopolitical issues, including the West Asia conflict and the war in Ukraine, the Canadian readout said.The ministers welcomed the recent security dialogue held in India at the NSA level, where officials reviewed progress in bilateral security and law enforcement cooperation and committed to sustained engagement on security issues of mutual interest."The ministers also welcomed efforts to advance negotiations for a comprehensive economic partnership agreement," the readout further said.