Modi, Carney agree to wrap up India-Canada free trade talks by end of 2026

India and Canada have agreed to conclude negotiations for a free trade agreement by the end of the year following wide-ranging talks between prime minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney on boosting cooperation in defence, trade and energy.

Modi and Carney met on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains in eastern France.

“It was a delight to meet Prime Minister Carney on the sidelines of the Evian G7 Summit,” Modi said in a post on X.

“In less than a year, it is our fourth meeting, indicating our commitment to strong India-Canada ties. We reviewed the full range of relations between our nations, notably the ground covered since we last met,” he said.

According to a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to concluding negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) this year.

“Both sides expressed satisfaction with the progress in negotiations towards a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and reaffirmed their shared objective of concluding the negotiations in 2026,” the MEA said.

The ministry said the two prime ministers welcomed the positive momentum in bilateral ties and noted the progress made since Carney’s visit to India in March this year.

India and Canada also agreed to launch negotiations on a General Security of Information Agreement aimed at strengthening defence and security cooperation.

India is the fastest-growing major economy in the world, and a powerhouse of global commerce and technology.

Prime Minister @NarendraModi and I are working at speed to unleash the potential of new partnerships between our nations — in energy, talent, and AI. pic.twitter.com/71eb66pQ9f

— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) June 16, 2026

“Both leaders reviewed the excellent progress made in bilateral engagement and discussed ways to build a stronger partnership driven by trade, energy, innovation, education and people-to-people exchanges,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X.

Reaffirming their commitment to a “forward-looking strategic partnership”, Modi and Carney highlighted the complementarities between the Indian and Canadian economies and underscored the importance of resilient and reliable supply chains for global energy and food security, according to the MEA statement.

The leaders also reviewed progress in economic cooperation, including commercial arrangements related to LNG, LPG and metallurgical coal.

Carney visited India from February 27 to March 2, during which the two countries signed key agreements on supplies of Uranium and critical minerals and agreed to conclude a comprehensive economic partnership agreement soon.

During that visit, the two prime ministers also pledged to expand cooperation in defence, critical technologies, small and modular nuclear reactors, education and renewable energy.

At their meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit, Modi and Carney welcomed growing institutional engagement, including recent meetings of the Joint Science and Technology Committee and the Consular Dialogue. They also expressed support for future dialogues in the areas of defence, finance and migration.

The two leaders noted ongoing collaboration under the Canada-India Talent and Innovation Strategy and announced the establishment of Raisina Americas as a platform to strengthen dialogue, exchanges and cooperation further.

Modi also expressed support for Canada becoming a Dialogue Partner of the Indian Ocean Rim Association, the MEA statement said.

Relations between the two countries deteriorated sharply after then-prime minister Justin Trudeau alleged in 2023 a potential Indian link to the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.

Both sides began taking steps to rebuild ties after Carney became prime minister in March last year.