India, Canada vow deeper ties, set $50-bn trade target by 2030

India and Canada on Sunday agreed to further deepen their ties in a range of areas including trade, investmentand technology, during talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg.

- Rahul Singh

The two sides have set a target of USD 50 billion for bilateral trade by 2030, Modisaid. The figure currently stands ataround $30 billion.

In another key development, India and Italy agreed to a joint initiative for combating terror financing, during talks between Modi and PM Giorgia Meloni.

“We appreciated the significant momentum in our bilateral ties since our earlier meeting held during the G7 Summit hosted by Canada. We agreed to further advance our relations in the coming months, particularly in trade, investment, technology and innovation, energy and education,” he said after meeting Carney. India and Canada have great potential in strengthening trade and invest- ‘ment linkages, Modi said, adding that Canadian Pension Funds are also showing keen interest in Indian companies.

“We also agreed to unlock the potential for deeper cooperation in defence and space sectors and meet again in the near future,” Modi said. The meeting came a day after India, Australia, and Canada announced a trilateral technology and innovation partnership on the sidelines of the Summit. The ambitious partnership is yet another sign of the revival of relations between India and Canada after Carney assumed chargeas PM this year.