‘All possibilities on the table’: India open to resuming FTA talks with Canada, says Piyush Goyal

Amid a gradual thaw in ties following tensions over the Nijjar case, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that “all possibilities are on the table” regarding the resumption of free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with Canada.

Goyal said he has already held two rounds of discussions with Canada’s Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development, Maninder Sidhu, as both countries look to deepen bilateral cooperation and strengthen their strategic partnership.

Goyal said, “All possibilities are on the table. We have now had two rounds of discussions. We met in Delhi for the high-level ministerial meeting. We met briefly (later) to also discuss the way forward to strengthen our bilateral cooperation and strategic partnership.”

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He added that the CII Partnership Summit 2025 in Visakhapatnam saw participation from ministers across continents, reflecting India’s growing global engagement.

“I’m grateful to many ministers from across the world who joined us today. Almost every continent was represented. We had ministers from North America and Latin America. We had ministers from Europe and Africa. We had a minister from Southeast Asia. So effectively, the entire globe was represented at this partnership summit, demonstrating India as a friend of humanity. The world is one family, is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mantra, which we have inherited from generations and centuries and are proud of, and we are taking it forward in our international engagements,” Goyal said.

India and Canada reaffirmed their commitment to boosting economic ties as Goyal and Sidhu convened the 7th Ministerial Dialogue on Trade and Investment (MDTI) in New Delhi.

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Sidhu’s visit to India from November 11–14 followed directions from both Prime Ministers to enhance collaboration, following their discussions on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Canada.

The meeting also built on the joint statement issued by the Foreign Ministers on October 13, which emphasised trade as the cornerstone of India-Canada relations.

Both ministers welcomed the strong rise in bilateral trade, which reached USD 23.66 billion in 2024, including USD 8.98 billion in merchandise trade—a 10 per cent increase from last year. They also highlighted growing two-way investments, driven by major Canadian institutional investments in India and an expanding presence of Indian companies in Canada, supporting thousands of jobs in both economies.