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The Bilateral Meeting was co-chaired by Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, and Canada was represented by Canada’s Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business, and Economic Development, Mary Ng to improve the India-Canada Relations.
The ministers emphasized IndiaCanada Relations related to solid trade and economic cooperation and committed to further expanding IndiaCanada Bilateral Ties. They expressed delight with the robust rebound of bilateral trade in 2021 following the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, with bilateral commerce in products reaching USD 6.29 billion, a 12 percent increase over the previous year.
Major Highlights of the Dialogue
India-Canada relations are based on common ideals such as democracy, pluralism, increased economic cooperation, regular high-level encounters, and long-standing people-to-people ties.
India-Canada Bilateral Ties are pursued through discussion structures such as Ministerial-level Strategic, Trade, and Energy talks; Foreign Office Consultations; and various sector-specific cooperative working groups (JWG).
 Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA):
Both nations agreed to relaunch negotiations for a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CEPA). Due to Covid 19 Pandemic, the CEPA negotiations were stopped but they were ready to resume once the Canadian elections were over.
Goods trade between India and Canada reached $6.3 billion in 2021 and both the countries agreed to a comprehensive trade agreement to boost the trade and economy of both the nations.
Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA):Â
EPTA is considered to be an interim agreement or a transitory step toward the CEPA. it will follow the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Article XXIV.
EPTA comprises commitments in commodities, services, rules of origin, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical trade barriers, and dispute settlement, as well as many other mutually agreed-upon areas.
Economic Relations
In 2019-20, bilateral trade in goods totaled USD 6.73 billion (USD 2.85 billion in exports and USD 3.88 billion in imports). In 2019, bilateral trade in services totaled USD 3.10 billion.
Gems, jewelry, precious stones, pharmaceutical products, ready-made clothing, mechanical appliances, organic chemicals, light engineering goods, iron and steel components, and other commodities dominate India’s exports to Canada.
Nuclear Cooperation –Â
India-Canada Relations strengthened after signing an NCA(Nuclear Cooperation Agreement) in June 2010 and it was enforced in September 2013. Due to this a joint committee was formed on the matter of civil nuclear cooperation.
Science and TechnologyÂ
The primary goal of India-Canada Relations in the field of science and technology collaboration has been to promote industrial R&D that has the potential for application through the development of new intellectual property, methods, prototypes, or products.
The Department of Biotechnology executed a cooperative research project in the field of health care, waste management, and agri-biotech under the Renowned IC-IMPACTS Programme. Canada also launched a knowledge-sharing program on Cold Climate(Arctic) Studies.
Space –Â
Since the 1990s, India-Canada Relations in the realm of space, focusing mostly on space science, earth observation, satellite launch services, and ground support for space missions.
ISRO and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) inked two Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) in the field of space exploration and use in October 1996 and March 2003, respectively.
ISRO’s commercial subsidiary, ATRIX, has launched many nanosatellites from Canada. ISRO’s 100th satellite, PSLV, launched on January 12, 2018, also carried Canada’s first LEO satellite from the Indian spaceport in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
Education
Education is a critical area of shared interest. Recently, India surpassed the United States as the leading supplier of international students studying in Canada.
Security and Defence
India-Canada Bilateral Ties are working closely in international forums such as the UN, G-20, and the commonwealth. Ship visits of both sides have helped in the strengthening of defence. On counter-terrorism problems, there is strong collaboration, notably under the framework of the Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism.
People-to-People
Canada has one of the world’s largest Indian diasporas, with 1.6 million (PIOs and NRIs) accounting for more than 4% of the overall population. The diaspora has done admirably well in every aspect of Canadian life. In the realm of politics, the current House of Commons (with a total membership of 338) contains 22 Members of Parliament of Indian heritage.
Cooperation in COVID-19 Pandemic
Repatriation flights: The Canadian High Commission chartered special charter aircraft, which were facilitated by India, to remove trapped Canadian people from India. Medication supply: A total of 12.34 billion paracetamol pills, 5 billion hydroxychloroquine tablets, 3510 kg of hydroxychloroquine sulphate USP (API), and 10 million eye shields with face masks were approved and transported to Canada. India-Canada Political Relations have strengthened multifold during this pandemic.
Conclusion
Both Parties have acknowledged the large mobility of professionals and skilled workers, students, and business travellers between the two countries, as well as its enormous contribution to strengthening the India Canada Bilateral Ties. Both parties agreed to continue discussing strategies to boost the innovation ecosystems in their respective nations. India hailed Canada’s recent statement that it will relax COVID-19 testing restrictions for Indian tourists. Both parties agreed that there is considerable opportunity to improve collaboration in science, technology, and innovation between their research and business sectors in support of a sustained economic recovery and the prosperity and well-being of their populations. Both nations also agreed that India Canada Political Relations can also be improved if worked constantly upon it.
