India Canada Trade Ties: India’s Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal, is set to co-chair the sixth India-Canada Ministerial Dialogue on Trade and Investment (MDTI) in Ottawa on Monday, alongside Canada’s Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, Mary Ng. The visit is aimed at strengthening the bilateral trade relationship between the two countries, as well as promoting investment and cooperation in green transition initiatives.
Since the last MDTI meeting in March 2022, both ministers have launched the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) negotiations with a possibility for an interim agreement or Early Progress Trade Agreement. Seven rounds of negotiations have been held so far, with the upcoming event marking the eighth round. The CEPA, initiated in 2009, seeks to reduce customs duties on goods traded between the countries and covers a wide range of sectors, such as agriculture, manufacturing, services, and intellectual property.
As part of the dialogue, Goyal and Ng will discuss various themes, including critical minerals, new areas of cooperation, and promoting business-to-business (B2B) engagements. The MDTI serves as a bilateral mechanism providing an institutional framework for discussing a wide range of trade and investment-related issues and cooperation areas.
Goyal will also visit Toronto on May 9-10, where he is scheduled to meet with CEOs of key Canadian companies and attend a roundtable of Indian and Canadian CEOs. His visit aims to further promote trade and investment between the two nations. A delegation of Indian CEOs led by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) will accompany Goyal during his visit.
The trip will conclude with Goyal inaugurating the Indian Pavilion at SIAL CANADA-2023, North America’s largest food innovation trade show, which is expected to attract over 1,000 national and international participants. Key attendees at the event will include representatives from the Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI), Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO), and Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). The event will host a trade and investment promotion session for the agricultural and food processing sector, bringing together Indian companies and Canadian importers.
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