Canada Trade Minister to Lead 300-Member Business Delegation to India Amid CEPA Negotiations

Canada's Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu is leading a nearly 300-member business delegation to India in October to explore trade and investment opportunities. The visit coincides with the next round of India-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) negotiations, scheduled to begin October 5 in Ottawa. Both governments have set a target of reaching bilateral trade worth Canadian dollars 70 billion by 2030, up from the current level of over Canadian dollars 30 billion.

Maninder Sidhu, who holds the trade portfolio in the Canadian cabinet, announced Friday that a delegation of around 300 business representatives would accompany him to India later this month to examine opportunities spanning multiple sectors of one of the world's fastest-expanding economies. Following a Thursday meeting in Milwaukee between Sidhu and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, both sides indicated that negotiators from New Delhi would be brought into a fresh round of discussions aimed at wrapping up the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement before the year draws to a close. Two-way commerce between the two countries currently stands at around CAD 30 billion, Sidhu noted in posts on X, adding that following the fourth round of talks held in Mumbai and a separate meeting with Minister Piyush Goyal on the sidelines of the G20, a further round of negotiations under the CEPA framework was set to open in Ottawa on 5 October, with both sides working toward a deal before the year's end and a shared target of lifting bilateral trade to CAD 70 billion by 2030. Sidhu stated that roughly 300 delegates drawn from key Canadian business sectors would accompany him on a Team Canada Trade Mission to India during the month, with the aim of building commercial relationships, identifying new customers, and pursuing openings in one of the world's most rapidly expanding economies. The statement outlined an intent to use the trade mission as a vehicle for forging partnerships and expanding market presence in India across areas where Canada holds a strong footing — among them minerals, energy, agriculture, and technology. Posting separately on X, Goyal noted that talks with Canadian Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu had gone well, with the two sides also taking stock of where negotiations stand on the India-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Negotiations toward a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between India and Canada — a pact set up in March under the respective leaderships of Narendra Modi and Mark Carney, with a bilateral trade target of USD 50 billion by 2030 — are being pushed toward an earlier conclusion, Goyal indicated, pointing to a recent Mumbai meeting as the basis for renewed momentum and a shared pledge to accelerate the process.

Canada Trade Minister to Lead 300-Member Business Delegation to India Amid CEPA Negotiations

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Canada Trade Minister to Lead 300-Member Business Delegation to India Amid CEPA Negotiations

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