Canada trade minister set to visit India, hold talks on trade deal

Toronto: Canada’s Trade Minister will arrive in India on Friday for a two-day visit focused on rapidly taking forward ongoing negotiations towards a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA).

Canada's trade minister Maninder Sidhu will visit India “to strengthen trade and investment relationship with one of the world’s fastest-growing economies”. (AP)Global Affairs Canada, the country’s foreign ministry, announced on Thursday that Maninder Sidhu will travel to Mumbai on September 18 and 19 to “advance negotiations” towards the CEPA.

The release stated that Maninder Sidhu, Minister of International Trade, will visit “to strengthen Canada’s trade and investment relationship with one of the world’s fastest-growing economies”.

He will meet Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal as well as with other government officials and business representatives “to discuss bilateral trade and investment ties and to advance negotiations towards a Canada-India comprehensive economic partnership agreement”, it added.

He will thereafter participate in the 15th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Ministers-Canada Consultation in Manila, Philippines on September 21 and 22.

“I look forward to joining my negotiating teams in India and the Philippines for the ASEAN Economic Ministers–Canada Consultations, as we build momentum and work towards concluding trade agreements with each of these partners. India, ASEAN, and the Philippines are among the fastest-growing economies in the world. I will be meeting with government and business leaders to strengthen our trade relationships and attract new investment to Canada. We already have preferential access to a market of 1.5 billion consumers, and by concluding agreements with these partners, we will double that reach to 3 billion,” Sidhu said.

He is also scheduled to lead a large business delegation to India next month.

Negotiations between the two countries for CEPA have entered their fourth round and could be concluded by December this year. Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Mark Carney have set a deadline for the end of the year to conclude those talks. Modi is expected to visit Canada in December to attend the formal signing ceremony for the CEPA.

Anirudh Bhattacharya is a Toronto-based commentator on North American issues, and an author. He has also worked as a journalist in New Delhi and New York spanning print, television and digital media. He tweets as @anirudhb.Read More