Washington, May 25 (IANS) India and Canada are aiming to nearly double bilateral trade to $50 billion within the next five years as both countries push to reset economic ties and fast-track negotiations on a comprehensive trade pact, India’s High Commissioner to Canada, Dinesh K Patnaik, said in an exclusive interview to IANS.
The comments come ahead of Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s visit to Canada from May 25–27, accompanied by one of the largest Indian business delegations ever to visit the country.
“We are now going to ramp our economic and commercial relationship very high up,” Patnaik said.
The envoy said more than 100 Indian businessmen were expected to participate in meetings with Canadian industry groups, banks, pension funds, financial companies and logistics firms.
“This essentially is the beginning of a new phase,” he said.
Patnaik described the visit as a strong political and economic signal after years of strained relations.
“The very fact that this meeting is taking place is the success of the story,” he said. “One year back one wouldn’t have imagined an Indian minister coming with a hundred plus delegation to Canada.”
According to Patnaik, one of the key objectives of the visit is to provide momentum to negotiations on the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
“The visit is about signalling that relationships are back to normal, signalling that we want to take it to the next level, signalling that business is back to its full force and signalling that there is a political will on both sides to finalize a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement,” he said.
Patnaik said bilateral trade between the two countries currently stood at around 32 billion Canadian dollars, or nearly 25 billion US dollars.
“We are hoping to reach about 50 billion USD by 2030 or 2031,” he said.
The envoy identified energy as one of the biggest future growth sectors in the relationship.
“That is one part of it. The other is specific technologies on oil,” he said, referring to cooperation in crude oil, LNG, LPG, carbon capture technologies, renewable energy and green hydrogen.
He said India was also looking to deepen engagement with Canada in uranium supplies and nuclear technology.
“We’ve just signed during (Canadian) Prime Minister’s visit (to India) a deal to buy $2.8 billion worth of uranium,” he said.
Patnaik also highlighted opportunities in critical minerals, battery manufacturing and storage technologies.
“Critical minerals come within the energy space,” he said. “How do we access critical minerals? How to do the processing of critical minerals?”
Beyond energy, he pointed to fertilisers, AgriFood, AI, quantum research and defence cooperation as major emerging areas.
“They’re one of the largest producers of potash in the world,” he said, referring to Canada’s importance for India’s fertiliser requirements.
He also said India and Canada were exploring stronger collaboration in agriculture technology, cold storage chains, irrigation systems and food processing.
On investment, Patnaik said Indian firms were closely watching reforms being undertaken by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to simplify regulatory approvals.
“Prime Minister Carney is working on a method where the clearances are done even before the projects go out for looking for partners,” he said.
He added that Canada’s proposed investment summit in September could see significant Indian participation.
India-Canada economic ties had slowed after political tensions escalated in 2023. Trade negotiations were paused and diplomatic engagement weakened amid mutual accusations.
In recent months, however, both countries have resumed talks and signalled interest in rebuilding cooperation, particularly in trade, energy and investment. Canada remains an important partner for India in areas such as fertilisers, critical minerals, clean energy and education, while India is viewed as a major growth market for Canadian businesses.
--IANS
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