Mary Ng, Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, Canada will be visiting New Delhi from Thursday to hold 5th India – Canada Ministerial Dialogue on Trade and Investment (MDTI).
The meeting will be co-chaired by Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal. Goyal had earlier said that India is likely to propose an interim trade deal with Canada, which will be followed by a full fledged trade deal.
“There has been a strong recovery in bilateral trade in 2021 after the fallout as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, with bilateral trade in goods reaching $6.29 billion registering a growth rate of 12 per cent as compared to the previous year,” an official statement said.
Total bilateral trade between the two countries, including goods and services crossed $11 billion. During April 2021-January 2022, Indian exports to Canada increased to $3 billion, up almost by a fourth as compared to a year ago period.
Major Indian exports to Canada include drugs and pharmaceutical products, iron & steel products, marine products, cotton fabrics & readymade garments (RMG) and chemicals etc, while key Canadian exports to India comprise pulses, fertilizers, coal and crude petroleum etc.India and Canada have been negotiating a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) since 2010. The latest round of agreement happened in August, 2017.
 "Union Minister Piyush Goyal")