India and Canada have set a target to
increase bilateral trade to 50 billion US dollars by 2030
¨
India and Canada have set
a target to increase bilateral trade to 50 billion US dollars by 2030.
¨ Both countries agreed to
finalise the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) at the
earliest.
¨
The target is to complete
the CEPA negotiations by the end of 2026 or earlier.
¨ The initiative is
expected to provide a new direction to trade, investment, and strategic
cooperation between the two countries.
¨
In recent years,
India–Canada relations witnessed certain diplomatic challenges.
¨
Both nations are now
moving towards strengthening ties by prioritising economic cooperation.
¨
According to different
reports, bilateral trade between India and Canada has been estimated at around
17 billion US dollars.
¨
Some reports place
merchandise trade between the two countries at about 13.6 billion US dollars.
¨
Other estimates suggest
bilateral trade of nearly 32 billion Canadian dollars.
¨
Canada is an important
source of long-term investment for India.
¨
Canadian pension funds
have invested nearly 100 billion US dollars in India.
¨
These investments play a
significant role in infrastructure, energy, real estate, and financial sectors.
¨
CEPA stands for Comprehensive
Economic Partnership Agreement.
¨
A CEPA includes
provisions related to goods, services, investment, and regulatory cooperation.
¨
India has previously
signed CEPA-type agreements with several countries.
¨ The ongoing India–Canada negotiations are focused on market access, tariff reduction, trade facilitation, and investment cooperation.
¨ Experts believe that the agreement could create new opportunities for industries and business communities in both countries.
