India, Canada aim for trade deal before Modi visit
India and Canada are striving to finalize a trade agreement before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's December visit, according to Maninder Sidhu, Canada's Minister for International Trade. Sidhu expressed optimism about concluding negotiations on November 9 in New Delhi, stating that his team would be present in India to finalize the deal.
The bilateral investment treaty is expected to follow the trade deal. The talks have been ongoing since August, with India's stance on keeping taxation out of the treaty framework posing a significant challenge. Canada aims to boost exports of minerals, fertilizers, aerospace, and advanced manufactured goods to India, while India seeks better market access for apparel, footwear, and furniture sectors.
India also intends to increase its IT services exports to Canada, which currently constitute less than 1% of the total. Sidhu highlighted the significance of Canada's investment of $5.6 billion in IDBI Bank, the largest deal between the two countries in the financial sector. He noted that Canadian financial institutions have already invested around $107 billion in sectors such as infrastructure, healthcare, technology, cleantech, and energy in India.
Written by urgent.news from The Economic Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
