Canada's trade minister to return to New Delhi as India-Canada deal nears completion
Canadian trade minister Maninder Sidhu will make a second October trip to India, aiming to finalize the comprehensive economic partnership before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s December visit.
Maninder Sidhu, Canada’s trade minister, is set to travel to New Delhi around October 15 for a second visit within a month, bringing a sizable Canadian trade mission to explore investment opportunities. The trip comes after the fifth round of talks on the India-Canada comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) and will involve meetings with commerce minister Piyush Goyal and other senior officials. In Canada, commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal is slated to meet senior Canadian trade officials while en route to Mexico, where India is also negotiating a separate bilateral deal.
Officials say most technical issues have been resolved and the remaining hurdles are political, with the goal of sealing the agreement before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s December visit to Canada and Belgium. The two countries hope the pact will lift two-way trade to $70 billion by 2030, up from $30.4 billion in 2025. Sidhu also met Indian business leaders in Mumbai to discuss cooperation in life sciences, clean tech, energy transition and aerospace.
Why it matters
The deal could dramatically boost Indo-Canadian trade and shape economic ties ahead of high-level visits in December.
How the sides frame it
HIGH AGREEMENTBoth camps report the same upcoming visit and its timing, but left-leaning coverage highlights that most technical issues are solved and the remaining hurdles are political, stressing the goal of sealing the deal before Prime Minister Modi’s December visit, while centrist coverage emphasizes that the talks are being fast-tracked and notes the large Canadian trade mission exploring investment opportunities.
LEFT
Frames the story as a near-completion of the CEPA with political hurdles remaining and a push to seal the deal before Modi’s December visit.
CENTER
Frames the story as a fast-track effort, noting the likely October visit and the sizable Canadian trade mission exploring commercial opportunities.
The left emphasises
- most technical issues have been resolved
- remaining hurdles are political
- goal of sealing the agreement before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s December visit
In this story
