New Delhi, Mar 2 (.) India and Canada on Monday launched negotiations for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) here and decided to finalise it soon, said an official statement released by the Ministry of Commerce.
The Terms of Reference (ToR) for India-Canada CEPA was signed by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Maninder Sandhu, Minister of International Trade of Canada.
The ToR of negotiations will provide format, frequency and approach to India-Canada CEPA negotiations. It will serve as a guide to facilitate negotiations in order to conclude an ambitious, balanced mutually beneficial CEPA.
According to government data, Canada represents a market of 41.65 million people (till 2025) and USD 2.34 trillion in terms of GDP at PPP.
India-Canada CEPA holds great potential to unlock and expand bilateral trade which stood at USD 8.66 billion in FY 2024-25.
Primarily, key exports from India to Canada include drugs and pharmaceuticals, iron and steel, seafood, cotton garments, electronic goods and chemicals.
Additionally, the key imports from India to Canada include pulses, pearls and semiprecious stones, coal, fertilisers, paper and petroleum crude. . SAS KK