‘India, Canada most natural partners; bond goes deeper than any trade pact’: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

TORONTO: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has stated that India and Canada represent the “most natural partners” globally, emphasising that bilateral relations have undergone a “remarkable transformation” in recent times.

The Finance Minister arrived in Toronto on Tuesday for a four-day official visit to Canada, aimed at boosting bilateral trade, investment linkages, and financial cooperation.

Addressing an Indian diaspora business community reception in Toronto, Sitharaman noted that “India-Canada bilateral relations have seen a remarkable transformation in recent times, underpinned by our shared values of democracy and pluralism, and expanding economic engagement, and an unprecedented pace of high-level interactions, which the High Commissioner recalled a minute ago, and the strength of our people-to-people ties”.

Lauding the Indian business fraternity in Canada, she described it as “a community that sits inside Canadian boardrooms, on the trading floors of Bay Street, inside the risk committees of the pension funds. It is, in the truest sense, a strategic bridge between two vibrant democracies and two innovation-driven economies.”

The commitment from the Government of India is that we want Canadian investors to come and have greater engagement with India.

India is the economy in which people should take interest, because with that kind of population, with that kind of purchasing power, consumption and… pic.twitter.com/v6jTXhJU3D

— Nirmala Sitharaman Office (@nsitharamanoffc) August 26, 2026

Recalling the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney during the G7 Summit in June 2025, she highlighted that both leaders agreed to reset bilateral ties by reaffirming a “future-focused strategic partnership”.

“This was further advanced during Prime Minister Carney’s visit to India early this year, which formally launched CEPA negotiations, a Canadian $2.6 billion uranium agreement with Cameco, the adoption of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam as an overarching framework of the renewed strategic partnership, and a joint declaration of ambition to more than double two-way trade to Canadian $70 billion by 2030,” she stated.

Reiterating her view that both nations are the “most natural partners in the world”, the Minister highlighted their common values.

“We are both vibrant democracies wedded to the rule of law. We share the Commonwealth traditions, a similar parliamentary model, and the same official language. We see eye-to-eye on most geopolitical questions. We both champion UN-based multilateralism, North-South cooperation, and a rules-based international order. Above all, Canada and India are the two great multicultural societies in today’s world that truly value and cherish diversity. And that is a bond that goes deeper than any trade agreement,” she said.

Sitharaman underscored that India currently stands as the fastest-growing major economy globally, offering an unmatched combination of scale, sustained growth, a young demographic, rising consumption, and rapidly expanding capital markets.

“India’s transformation is structural. Rapid urbanisation, a growing middle class and world-class digital infrastructure are creating new opportunities across virtually every sector of the economy. Our digital ecosystem has also dramatically reduced the cost of access and expanded the reach of financial and commercial services,” she remarked.

She pointed out that the partnership between the two countries is “increasingly moving from capital flows to deeper institutional engagement”. “Capital markets are only one dimension of a modern financial partnership. Equally important is the underlying financial infrastructure,” she noted, praising India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) framework. “There are significant opportunities here for collaboration with Canadian banks, fintech companies and regulators, not only in payments, but in shaping the next generation of digital financial infrastructure,” she added.

The Finance Minister also emphasised that India is opening “new gateways” for foreign investments. “GIFT City, India’s International Financial Services Centre, is emerging as a global platform for international financial institutions, supported by a regulatory and tax framework designed specifically for cross-border financial activity,” she stated.

Sitharaman added that India has “progressively opened” sectors such as insurance, asset management, and pensions to greater overseas involvement, alongside the growth of deeper, more liquid, and sophisticated capital markets.

For Canadian institutional investors, she noted this offers avenues not just to participate in India’s expansion, but to “use India as a platform for wider regional and global financial activity”.

Nirmala Sitharaman pitched India as a gateway for Canadian investors and highlighted GIFT City and UPI as key areas for deeper India-Canada financial cooperation.

India is also creating new gateways for international capital.

GIFT City, India’s International Financial Services Centre, is emerging as a global platform for international financial institutions, supported by a regulatory and tax framework designed specifically for… pic.twitter.com/5DaBhjAJzb

— Nirmala Sitharaman Office (@nsitharamanoffc) August 26, 2026

Addressing a welcome reception on Wednesday with members of the Indian diaspora and business community in Toronto, Canada, as part of her official visit to Canada and the United States, Sitharaman said India offers a combination that is difficult to match, including scale, sustained growth, a young population, rising consumption and rapidly deepening capital markets.

“GIFT City, India’s International Financial Services Centre, is emerging as a global platform for international financial institutions, supported by a regulatory and tax framework designed specifically for cross-border financial activity,” she said adding, “For Canadian institutional investors, this creates opportunities not only to participate in India’s growth, but also to use India as a platform for wider regional and global financial activity.”

Apart from this, Sitharaman pitched UPI as an area of collaboration between India and Canada, saying it has become an important tool for financial inclusion, efficiency and innovation. “There are significant opportunities here for collaboration with Canadian banks, fintech companies and regulators – not only in payments, but in shaping the next generation of digital financial infrastructure, she said.

In her speech, she highlighted India-Canada bilateral relations have witnessed a “remarkable transformation” in recent times, driven by shared democratic values, expanding economic engagement, increased high-level interactions and strong people-to-people ties.

She described the Indian diaspora in Canada as a “strategic bridge” between the two democracies and their innovation-driven economies, with a growing presence across Canadian boardrooms, financial markets and pension funds.

Recalling the reset in India-Canada ties, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the two countries reaffirmed a future-focused strategic partnership during the G7 Summit in June 2025. She noted that Prime Minister Mark Carney’s subsequent visit to India advanced the partnership through the launch of CEPA negotiations, a CAD 2.6 billion uranium agreement with Cameco and a joint ambition to more than double bilateral trade to CAD 70 billion by 2030.

FM’s US-Canada visit will focus on strengthening bilateral economic and financial partnerships, deepening investment linkages and advancing cooperation on shared global economic priorities.

According to data shared by the Government of Canada, two-way merchandise trade between Canada and India reached CAD 10.9 billion in 2025, comprising CAD 3.9 billion in Canadian exports and CAD 7 billion in imports from India. Canada’s services exports to India stood at CAD 15.6 billion in 2024, up 16.3 per cent from the previous year. (ANI)