According to a Reuters report, India and Canada may sign several trade agreements. Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney is likely to visit India during the first week of March as per Reuters.
Both countries are expected to sign agreements on uranium, energy, minerals, and artificial intelligence, Reuters quoted India’s High Commissioner to Canada, Dinesh Patnaik.
As per the report, Patnaik said that formal negotiations for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with India are likely to begin in March.
Initially, the Canadian Prime Minister will sign smaller agreements with the Indian government on nuclear energy, oil and gas, the environment, AI and quantum computing, as well as deals on education and culture during his visit, Reuters quoted Patnaik.
Uranium deal and energy cooperation
This also includes a 10-year agreement worth 2.8 billion Canadian dollars for the supply of uranium.
Canada’s Energy Minister Tim Hodgson has not confirmed the deal but said that Canada is willing to sell uranium under the Canada–India nuclear cooperation agreement, as long as India is prepared to abide by International Energy Agency safeguards, Reuters added.
“We know that India is a major nuclear country and it has major plans to grow its civilian use of nuclear energy,” Reuters quoted Hodgson as saying. “So that would be one of the topics I expect that we will discuss with my counterpart,” he added.
Canada’s Energy Minister Tim Hodgson, who is visiting India this week, said that the timing for Carney’s trip has not been fixed yet. “There are plans for the prime minister to visit at some point this year, it will depend on the progress we make,” Reuters quoted Hodgson as saying in a Sunday interview.
According to the report, Patnaik said that both countries will also announce agreements around energy and mining, adding that a pact on critical minerals and crude and LNG transactions will be the most important ones.
Trade diversification and diplomatic reset
After US President Donald Trump warned of 100% tariffs on Canada if it signed a trade deal with China, reports emerged that the Canadian prime minister is on the lookout for new trading partners to reduce dependence on the US, which is currently its top trading partner.
Additionally, the report added that Carney is reviving diplomatic ties with India after his predecessor Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of being involved in the killing of Khalistani separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in 2023. India had denied these claims.
Carney’s administration has been reworking ties with India, as last year several of his ministers visited the country. “I have a feeling the first week of March is what we are looking at,” Reuters quoted High Commissioner Patnaik as saying.
Patnaik, as quoted by Reuters, added that both countries are moving with a sense of urgency after two years of stalled talks.
(With inputs from news agency Reuters)