New Delhi [India], March 2 (ANI): Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday announced that Canada and India are moving towards finalising a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) by the end of this year, setting an ambitious target to double bilateral trade by the end of the decade.

Addressing a Joint Press meet at Hyderabad House in the national capital and speaking on the deepening economic engagement between the two countries, Carney said, 'We're advancing towards a Canada-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the aim to conclude by the end of this year. This ambitious agreement will reduce barriers, increase certainty, unlock opportunity for exporters, investors, and workers in both our countries, with the aim to double trade by the end of this decade.'

According to the official statement by the office of the Prime Minister of Canada, the foundation to the Canada-India strategic partnership is strong, stable cooperation in trade. In New Delhi, Prime Minister Carney and Prime Minister Modi confirmed that Canada and India will conclude a new Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) this year, following a meeting of chief negotiators in New Delhi and the finalisation and signing of the Terms of Reference for the CEPA. The CEPA will advance Canada's goal to more than double two-way trade to USD 70 billion by 2030.

Carney underlined the strong investment foundation already in place, noting that Canadian pension funds have invested approximately USD 100 billion in India.'Over the longer horizon, the Prime Minister mentioned a moment ago the 100 billion dollars of investments already in India by our pension funds. Those pension funds have 2 trillion dollars in capital; they're already some of the largest foreign investors here. The potential for significant growth, particularly given the scale of the infrastructure build in this country,' he said.

Highlighting cooperation in emerging and strategic sectors, Carney said both nations were facing deeper ties in frontier technologies.' We share one future. That's why we're forging deeper ties in frontier technologies from AI to space,' he said.

At the G20, India and Canada signed a trilateral partnership with Australia, focusing on artificial intelligence and critical minerals. Carney said key factors identified for collaboration include digital infrastructure, semiconductors, electronics manufacturing and high-performance computing. He said,' At the G20, India and Canada signed a landmark trilateral partnership with Australia on AI and critical minerals. And we've already identified key sectors such as digital infrastructure, semiconductors, electronics manufacturing, and high-performance computing.'

He also announced an expansion of space cooperation,' With the agreements today, we're going to expand our collaboration between the Canadian Space Agency and the Indian Space Research Organisation on Earth observation, on climate monitoring, on generating the data that powers agriculture, disaster response, climate resilience across the Indo-Pacific,' he said, referring to the Canadian Space Agency and the Indian Space Research Organisation.

Beyond trade and technology, Carney said the partnership would be reinforced through stronger defence and security ties. 'We're renewing defence and security cooperation through a new defence partnership, through maritime collaboration in the Indo-Pacific, through professional military exchange and practical coordination and cooperation on our shared security interests,' he said.

The two countries also exchanged several MoUs in the presence of both Prime Ministers.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at Hyderabad House in the national capital, focusing on strengthening cooperation and partnership between the two countries.

The Canadian Prime Minister arrived in India on February 27 for an official visit at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This marks Carney's first official visit to the country, which began when he arrived in Mumbai. He will depart from India today following his engagements in the national capital.

India also entered into CEPA with the UAE in 2022. With the completion of 4 years of India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the agreement has opened new sectoral opportunities and further reinforced India's position as a credible global trade hub.

In a social media post, the minister highlighted the significance of the agreement and said it marked a transformative step in strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries.

According to the minister, the agreement has contributed significantly to enhancing bilateral trade and expanding sectoral cooperation between the two nations.

Key developments of FY 2024-25 highlighted that bilateral trade crossed a historic milestone, reaching USD 100 billion. Non-oil trade between India and the UAE also reached approximately USD 68 billion, reflecting strong and diversified economic engagement.

The UAE continues to remain one of India's top global trading partners, with several sectors witnessing strong export growth. High-growth sectors for exports include pharmaceuticals, gems and jewellery, agriculture, textiles, marine products, and engineering goods. (ANI)