Canadian PM Carney accepts PM Modi’s invitation to visit India in early 2026

NEW DELHI: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has accepted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation to visit India in early 2026, the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada stated.

Following the return of high commissioners in August 2025, the two prime ministers agreed to enhance diplomatic staffing levels to meet growing consular demands and strengthen people-to-people linkages. They also agreed to support reciprocal knowledge transfer as part of ongoing engagement between the two countries.

Carney welcomed the progress being made in the law enforcement dialogue between India and Canada.

India and Canada have agreed to begin negotiations on a high-ambition Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) following a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders’ Summit on Sunday.

The planned CEPA talks aim to raise bilateral trade to USD 50 billion by 2030.

After the meeting, PM Modi said the two leaders acknowledged the “significant momentum” in the relationship and committed to “further advance” cooperation across multiple sectors. In a post on X, he wrote: “Had a very productive meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada. We appreciated the significant momentum in our bilateral ties since our earlier meeting held during the G7 Summit hosted by Canada.” He added: “We agreed to further advance our relations in the coming months, particularly in trade, investment, technology and innovation, energy and education.”

Modi noted that both countries “have great potential in strengthening trade and investment linkages” and have set a “target” of USD 50 billion by 2030. He also said Canadian Pension Funds “are also showing keen interest in Indian companies.” The Prime Minister said the two leaders are expected to meet again soon and that they “agreed to unlock the potential for deeper cooperation in defence and space sectors.”

According to a release from the Ministry of External Affairs, both sides “reaffirmed” their longstanding civil nuclear cooperation and discussed expanding it through long-term uranium supply arrangements.

On Sunday, Carney referred to India as a reliable trading partner. Responding to a question during a press briefing, he said, “Yes, we do actually.” He noted that India and Canada do not yet have a CEPA with “one of the world’s largest and fastest growing economies.” He added, “The ability to have more effective trade with them, to scale that trade with them, would be greatly helped by that.”

Carney highlighted what he described as a strong commercial relationship, saying Canadian firms are “one of the largest foreign investors.” He said a formal trade agreement would give businesses protections, clear rules and a dispute-resolution system.

He also pointed to India’s growing role in sectors such as solar and wind energy, saying Canada is seeking to diversify supply chains. “We’ll diversify in that respect from China, which is the dominant player there,” he said, adding, “India, South Korea are really the two main opportunities.”

Sunday’s meeting was the first bilateral between the two leaders since their interaction at the G7 Summit in Kananaskis in June, which helped reset ties and paved the way for the return of high commissioners after relations deteriorated under former prime minister Justin Trudeau. Trudeau had alleged in Parliament in September 2023 that there were “credible links” between Indian agents and the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, claims New Delhi rejected as “absurd” and “motivated.”

Engagement has since advanced under Carney, who took office in March. India and Canada, along with Australia, announced the Australia-Canada-India Technology and Innovation (ACITI) Partnership on Saturday. Modi said the partnership “will deepen collaboration between democratic partners across three continents and three oceans in emerging technologies, support diversification of supply chains, clean energy and mass adoption of AI.”

In another post, the Canadian Prime Minister said, “We’ll work more closely together on clean energy, critical minerals, and AI to unlock new research, more opportunities, and greater prosperity.” (ANI)