Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal along with Hon'ble Mary Ng, Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, Government of Canada, will co-chair the discussions for the sixth India- Canada Ministerial Dialogue on Trade and Investment (MDTI) today in Ottawa. MDTI is a bilateral mechanism which provides institutional mechanism to discuss a broad spectrum of trade and investment related issues and cooperation areas. The Dialogue will focus on various themes including strengthening the Bilateral Trade Relationship between India and Canada, Investment Promotion and Cooperation, Green Transition – including Critical Minerals discussion and new Areas of Cooperation such as promoting B2B engagements.

The Ministers will also review India-Canada CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) negotiations. At the last MDTI meeting in March 2022, both Ministers launched the CEPA negotiations with a possibility to have an interim agreement or EPTA (Early Progress Trade Agreement). Since then, seven rounds of negotiations have been held.

The Minister will also be visiting Toronto from 9th to 10th May 2023, where he will have various engagements to promote trade & investment. These engagements will include meetings with CEOs of key Canadian companies, Round Table of Indian and Canadian CEOs, interaction with Canadian and Indian companies based in Canada and Financial Sector Round table etc. The Minister would be accompanied by a delegation of Indian CEOs led by FICCI.

The Minister will inaugurate the Indian Pavilion at SIAL CANADA-2023, which is the largest food innovation trade show in North America with participation of more than 1000 national & international exhibitors from 50 countries. The event will address the needs of the retail, food service & food processing industries. At SIAL Canada, Indian business participation consists of delegation from Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI), Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) and Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). There will also be a Trade and Investment Promotion Event for the Agricultural and Food Processing sector with Indian companies and Canadian importers on the sidelines of SIAL-2023. This event is likely to be attended by 200 companies.

The visit is expected to impart further momentum to bilateral trade and investment relations.

Ministerial Dialogue on Trade and Investment advances bilateral trade, reviews CEPA negotiations and promotes investment cooperation. The Ministerial Dialogue on Trade and Investment serves as a bilateral mechanism to address trade and investment issues, focusing on strengthening bilateral trade, investment promotion, B2B engagements and the green transition including critical minerals. Ministers will review ongoing Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) negotiations, which may include an interim or early progress trade agreement, following multiple negotiation rounds. Parallel trade promotion activities include CEO roundtables, financial sector discussions, an Indian Pavilion at a major food innovation trade show, and a trade and investment promotion event for the agricultural and food processing sectors to facilitate exporter importer meetings.