Diplomacy: India, Canada to revive bilateral ties with talks on trade and investments
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: After months of stress and strains in their relationship. India and Canada on Monday agreed to take a series of measures to revive and deepen their bilateral relationship, the media reported.
Their announcement followed detailed discussions between External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand, who is currently on an official visit to India.
In a joint statement, the two ministers said the visit “is a follow-up to the guidance provided by the Prime Ministers of the two countries during their meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Canada, in June 2025, to take calibrated measures to restore stability in the relationship.”
It said steps had already been taken, including reinstating High Commissioners in each other’s capitals (August 28, 2025), advancing India-Canada security cooperation (September 18, 2025), continuing senior official-level discussions on security and law enforcement, and pre-Foreign Office consultations and a Foreign Ministers’ meeting at the UN General Assembly in New York in September.
These measures were aimed at building “a constructive and balanced partnership grounded in respect for each other’s concerns and sensitivities, strong people-to-people ties, and growing economic complementarities.”
The two ministers emphasised the importance of economic cooperation amid global uncertainty. Bilateral trade had reached USD 23.66 billion in 2024, with Indian and Canadian businesses increasingly present in each other’s markets.
As the next step, they agreed to “commence, at an early date, ministerial-level discussions on bilateral trade and investment informed by today’s economic realities and each country’s strategic priorities.” This is intended to guide initiatives in goods, services and investment.
Other trade-related plans include resuming the Canada-India CEO Forum, bringing executives from both countries together to recommend actionable measures to boost trade and investment in sectors like clean technology, infrastructure, agri-food and digital innovation, and convening the Forum alongside a senior-level trade mission in early 2026.
The statement said that both countries shared commitment to environmental protection and climate action. Their initiatives will include expanding bilateral cooperation on renewable energy, decarbonising industries, and reducing plastic pollution; re-establishing the Canada-India Ministerial Energy Dialogue; promoting trade and investment in LNG, LPG and clean energy technologies; supporting energy security through the exchange of best practices and policy frameworks; and holding the first Critical Minerals Annual Dialogue in Toronto in March 2026.
Recognising the role of innovation in economic growth, both sides agreed to relaunch the Joint Science and Technology Cooperation Committee; promote partnerships in AI and digital infrastructure, and encourage Canadian participation in India’s AI Impact Summit in February 2026.
Both the ministers highlighted collaboration in agriculture to enhance trade, productivity and climate-resilient practices, and stressed the importance of educational and cultural exchanges, including strengthening research partnerships in AI, cybersecurity and fintech, expanding Canadian academic presence in India, and revitalising the Joint Working Group on Higher Education.
To ensure implementation of these ambitious plans, India and Canada also agreed that their High Commissions and Consulates will deploy expertise across economic, political, defence and technology domains, the reports added.
