Big focus on trade during Canada PM Carney's visit to India in March, say sources

The Canadian Prime Minister's visit is likely to see the signing of deals on uranium, energy, minerals, and Artificial Intelligence.

Sources in the Ministry of External Affairs said there would be a key focus on trade during PM Carney's visit to India.

Meanwhile, Canada has pitched itself as a reliable partner for supplying energy to India. Canadian Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson, who was in India for the India Energy Week, said Canada is committed to supplying energy to India and asserted that his country will never use energy for "coercion."

"It is a changing world we live in, and energy is at the centre of that. I'm here because, like you, the way to resist that change is to build multilateral relationships and to double down on diversification of supply," the Canadian minister said, speaking at the India Energy Week 2026.

The Canadian minister also said his country is committed to supplying critical minerals to India.

"Canada is a great supplier of those critical minerals, and we'll be talking about that, and a number of our companies are here at this conference to both help you develop your own critical minerals, but where we have ones to share to help you with energy transition, we will be doing that," he assured.

According to reports, formal negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between India and Canada could also start in March.

PM Carney is expected to sign smaller agreements with India on nuclear energy, oil and gas, environment, AI and quantum computing as well as deals on education and culture during his visit and a 10-year USD 2.8-billion uranium supply deal is likely to be included.

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman are also likely to visit Canada soon, while National Security Advisor Ajit Doval will visit Ottawa next month as part of regular engagements between the two countries.

On Monday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had a productive conversation with Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand, focusing on strengthening India-Canada bilateral ties. They discussed deepening cooperation in various sectors, including economic partnership, artificial intelligence, and high-level exchanges. (ANI)