Canadian Minister Maninder Sidhu meets India’s Hardeep Puri to strengthen trade ties

Canada’s Minister of International Trade, Maninder Sidhu, is in India for a three-day visit aimed at expanding bilateral trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.

Sidhu met with India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, in New Delhi on Wednesday before attending the Confederation of Indian Industry Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam later this week.

During the meeting, Sidhu said Canada remains committed to deepening economic engagement with India, which he described as the world’s fifth-largest economy and on track to becoming the third-largest. He noted that in 2024, bilateral trade between the two nations reached about $30 billion, making India Canada’s seventh-largest trading partner in goods and services.

Sidhu highlighted emerging opportunities for collaboration in sectors such as energy, clean technology, artificial intelligence, agriculture, and infrastructure, adding that both countries can work together to create shared prosperity for businesses, workers, and communities.

The visit comes as India has also extended an invitation to Prime Minister-designate Mark Carney to visit New Delhi early next year, signaling continued dialogue between the two countries.