Canada is hoping to finalise its landmark trade agreement with India before the end of this year, Foreign Minister Anita Anand told NDTV on Wednesday, as the two countries look to build on a recent reset in bilateral relations.
The visit comes as both sides push to accelerate negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which aims to strengthen trade and economic ties between the two countries. “I want to say, though, that the relationship between Canada and India isn’t just an economic one. Anand also outlined Canada’s efforts to diversify its international partnerships amid growing protectionism in the United States.
Anand is in India from October 13 to 15 for high-level talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
Speaking to NDTV, Anand said Canada was looking forward to concluding the agreement by the year-end, while stressing that the relationship between the two countries extended well beyond commerce. The people-to-people ties that bind our two countries are very deep, and we see those ties expressed in business, but also expressed in university and education, in the tourism and transportation industry, and in the broader familial relationships between our two countries”, she said. Describing the improvement in bilateral ties, Anand said the reset had been a “welcome transition” for people in both countries. She said Ottawa needed to strengthen its economic ties with other countries while boosting domestic growth.
