India-Canada Ties "Back on Track," High Commissioner Eyes Swift Trade Deal

"The current status of the relationship is extremely good. I mean, we couldn't have asked for anything better given our past history of the last two years," Patnaik said in an interview with the Financial Post, noting that momentum picked up after Prime Minister Mark Carney met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Kananaskis during the G7 summit.

He pointed to the appointment of High Commissioners and a "spate of visits at the level of ministers," including the foreign, trade, and energy ministers, as well as parliamentary and sectoral delegations.

"There has been a spate of meetings, all of this trying to make up for whatever time we have lost in the past," he said, adding that discussions have covered areas ranging from national security and law enforcement to mining, energy, education, and artificial intelligence.

Patnaik described the relationship as "back on track, not just back on track, it's going very strongly," and said a high-level Canadian visit is expected soon to "literally put the stamp on the relationship having come this far."

On CEPA, he said "the deal should not be difficult at all," recalling that both prime ministers at the G20 in Johannesburg decided to launch negotiations. The Canadian side has issued a 90-day notice to Parliament, and "the negotiation should now start at the end of February, beginning of March."

Patnaik argued that economic realities have shifted significantly since earlier free trade talks. "Today, we are the 4th largest economy in the world, soon to be the 3rd," he said, underscoring how India's global position has evolved.

He highlighted India's recent trade deals with EFTA, the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the UAE, saying "we have moved forward on a lot of positions which earlier we used to hold on to."

According to him, many elements are already aligned, given Canada's trade engagements with the EU and several Asian partners. "So essentially, a lot of the boxes have already been ticked," he said.

Addressing questions about differing values, Patnaik was categorical. "We are both democracies, rule of law, freedom of press, market economy," he said. He added that the two countries "have only interests which coalesce together" and work jointly across multilateral platforms, including the UN, G7, and G20.

"What is most important in a comprehensive economic partnership is to make it easy for us to address all the sectors," he said, listing lower tariffs, fewer non-tariff barriers, easier logistics, and stronger cooperation in investment, research, AI, mining, energy, defence, and aerospace.

"That is the essence of a comprehensive economic partnership agreement. It's like having a marriage where you take out all the issues that a problem and make it easier for both sides to work together," he said.

He stressed that institutional links - including parliamentary exchanges and civil society engagement - will complement any trade pact.

"Despite the blip of the last two years, our people-to-people relations did not suffer a bit. Trade went up. Financial institutions worked well. Academic institutions worked well. Universities, students, research, innovation, nothing stopped," he said.

India and Canada have historically shared deep educational, trade, and diaspora ties, with a large Indian-origin population in Canada and expanding cooperation in energy, critical minerals, and technology. Tensions in recent years over security-related allegations had strained diplomatic engagement, but both governments have since signalled a desire to stabilise and rebuild the partnership.

- IANS