BISHESHWAR MISHRA
External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar has said, India and Canada are preparing to take their bilateral relationship to a higher level. He met Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. In a social media post on X, Dr Jaishankar described the discussion as very productive, adding that both countries are working to strengthen ties. Dr Jaishankar also shared a short video of the meeting. He said, the two sides are looking to translate a series of high-level engagements into agreements covering trade, energy, technology, security and education.
Earlier this week, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said at the UN, that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Canada around December this year. Carney also said Ottawa was making progress in trade negotiations with India.
India and Canada had agreed at last year’s G20 summit to work toward concluding their trade negotiations by this year’s Summit. Carney said, the proposed agreement aims to more than double bilateral trade to 70 billion Canadian dollars annually by 2030. The two-day G-20 Summit is scheduled to be hosted by US President Donald Trump at Florida in December this year.