India and Canada are holding bilateral talks from March 10 to 13 to strengthen the bilateral ties and discuss economic partnership and a free trade agreement. Mary Ng, Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, Canada, will be visiting New Delhi to have the 5th India-Canada Ministerial Dialogue on Trade and Investment (MDTI).

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will co-chair the meeting. Goyal had earlier said that India would likely offer an interim trade deal with Canada. “There has been a powerful recovery in bilateral trade in the year 2021 after the fallout due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with bilateral trade in goods reaching $6.29 billion reporting a growth rate of 12 per cent as compared to the previous year,” an official statement said.

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Total bilateral trade between the two countries, including goods and services, crossed the $11 billion mark. From April 2021 to January 2022, Indian exports to Canada advanced to $3 billion. Major exports to Canada are drugs and pharmaceutical products, iron & steel products, marine products, cotton fabrics & readymade garments (RMG) and chemicals. In contrast, Canadian exports to India include pulses, fertilisers, coal and crude petroleum. India and Canada have been negotiating a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) since 2010.