India, Canada look to expedite FTA talks
TORONTO/NEW DELHI: India and Canada held the fifth Ministerial Dialogue on Trade & Investment (MDTI) on Wednesday and formally agreed to expedite talks to consider a free trade agreement between the two countries to boost trade in goods and services along with an early harvest deal, a commerce ministry spokesperson said.
Union commerce and industries minister Piyush Goyal and his Canadian counterpart Mary Ng had earlier agreed to formally relaunch negotiations for the India-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and also to consider an interim agreement or Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA) that expedites mutual commercial gains, he said. Discussions had taken place during Ng’s visit to India in March.
“The Interim Agreement would include high level commitments in goods, services, rules of origin, sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, and dispute settlement, and may also cover any other areas mutually agreed
upon,” said the spokesperson.
A readout of the conversation, released by Global Affairs Canada, said Ng “expressed her appreciation for India’s openness to explore diverse trade issues and advance the longstanding economic and investment relationship between Canada and India...”
Ng also emphasized the importance of advancing discussions on an investment protection agreement between Canada and India.
Minister Goyal later tweeted: “Discussions were held on ways to further strengthen bilateral trade ties, explore new opportunities & attract greater investments as both sides work towards a mutually beneficial trade pact.”