Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has stated on Tuesday that ongoing trade negotiations with India are making good progress and that both nations are actively aiming to wrap up the discussions ahead of the G20 summit in mid-December, as reported by AP.

Speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, Prime Minister Carney noted that, according to his understanding, India has confirmed Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Canada around that time, although the precise dates for the visit are yet to be finalized.

Prime Minister Carney highlighted that both he and Prime Minister Modi have committed to trying to conclude the economic negotiations before the upcoming summit, which is scheduled to take place on December 14 and 15 at Trump National Doral in Miami.

The Canadian Prime Minister is aiming to double Canada's non-US commercial trade over the coming decade and has incorporated India into a broader strategic effort to minimize his country's overall trade reliance on the United States as economic and political relations undergo strain under President Donald Trump.

In recent weeks, Prime Minister Carney embraced the prospect of Canada becoming the European Union's first associate member, asserting that fostering significantly deeper institutional ties with Europe would help ensure that no single foreign country could control Canadian markets or compromise national sovereignty.

Additionally, Prime Minister Carney struck a commercial agreement with China earlier this year, allowing a limited volume of Chinese electric vehicles to enter Canada at a sharply reduced import tariff in exchange for Beijing lowering its tariffs on Canadian canola exports.

Canada and India had formally launched comprehensive trade agreement negotiations in March, with both federal governments publicly committing to wrap up the structured talks by the end of 2026.

This swift economic rapprochement comes after a deep diplomatic rupture triggered by the 2023 killing of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia, which had previously caused severe friction between Ottawa and New Delhi.

At the time, former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that there were credible allegations linking agents of the Indian government to Nijjar's murder on Canadian soil.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police later publicly stated that it possessed evidence allegedly connecting Indian government officials to homicides, violent acts, and organized crime networks operating across Canada.

Former Prime Minister Trudeau had further claimed that Indian diplomats collected sensitive information about Canadian citizens which was subsequently passed to criminal outfits, leading directly to targeted violent acts and resulting in Canada expelling six high-ranking Indian diplomats.

India firmly denied all involvement in the incident, rejected the claims, and accused the Canadian administration of actively harbouring Sikh separatists and extremist elements on its territory.

Since taking office, Prime Minister Carney has moved swiftly to repair relations with New Delhi, and his official bilateral visit to India earlier this year marked the first official visit by a Canadian prime minister to the nation since 2018.

During that bilateral engagement, both nations discussed expanding cooperation across multiple sectors, including defence industries, strategic security, clean energy transitions, and advanced commercial projects.

Under the broader vision to boost bilateral economic velocity, trade between the two nations is projected to target billions of dollars, translating into several lakh crores of Rupees over the next decade.

The proposed bilateral framework aims to benefit diverse sectors, ranging from large-scale manufacturing to emerging digital technology start-ups across both nations.

Canadian institutional investments, including major pension funds, have already deployed capital running into thousands of crores of Rupees across key commercial nodes in cities like Bangalore and Mumbai.

As part of the economic diversification strategy, Canadian exports including agricultural commodities, critical minerals, and industrial raw materials amounting to several million tons are expected to find expanded market access in India.

In parallel, both governments are actively engaged in structured technical program initiatives to support joint academic research, talent mobility, and shared technological developments across critical supply chains.

The upcoming discussions are expected to build on recent high-level diplomatic exchanges between foreign ministers, defence chiefs, and economic envoys from both sides as they seek to establish a stable and predictable economic baseline.

Agencies