Ottawa, May 25 (). Canada’s International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu said that India and Canada are working on a deal, which will bring the largest ever business delegation from India.
In a joint statement with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, Sidhu warmly welcomed Union Minister Goyal and said, “I am very excited to collaborate further with India on our economic partnership.”
He said he is hearing from the business community, chambers of commerce and their stakeholders across the country. He said Minister Goyal’s visit is timely with the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and the CAD 2.6 billion uranium deal signed in March.
Canadian Minister Sidhu said, “This is very important, it will be based on the meetings to be held in the next 48 hours, we will sit with our chief negotiators, two rounds have been done, we will work together, there will be a lot of WhatsApp diplomacy between us to seal the deal this year.”
He also said that he will be taking a team, a Canadian trade mission, to India later this year to match the energy that Minister Goyal brought to Canada.
“Just a few months ago (Canadian) Prime Minister Mark Carney came to India and this was the first visit of a Canadian Prime Minister to India in eight years, but I think it has completely changed the way Canada and India look at each other,” Piyush Goyal said during a joint media address.
He said that this has paved the way for a complete change in India-Canada relations, new agendas and new goals are being set in mission mode. He said he can clearly see the speed and intent on both sides, which is great for working together for the well-being of the people of India and Canada and providing business opportunities to both countries.
He said that the Prime Ministers have given him the task of completing the Free Trade Agreement by the end of this year or before, with a big vision, but also to increase our trade three times from the current US$ 17 billion to US$ 50 billion by 2030.
Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of India, said, “Canada and India, two very important economies, two democracies, two people who believe not only in the shared prosperity of our two countries, but also in our own contribution to the global economy and global peace and security, this is a relationship that is going to be very important in the years to come.”
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KK/DKP