Canada keen to fast-track launch of FTA talks Official

New Delhi, Jan 28 (PTI) Canada has expressed its desire to expedite the process to formally begin negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA), an official said on Wednesday.
    The official said that Canada's Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development, Maninder Sidhu, has invited his Indian counterpart Piysuh Goyal to visit the country in the third week of next month.
    The two countries were earlier negotiating a trade pact, but it was paused by Canada in 2023. Now, they have decided to start afresh as a lot of things have changed on the global trade front during these two years.
    "Canada has expressed its desire to speed up the FTA negotiations," the official said.
    Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal has, earlier this month, stated that the two countries are engaged in finalising the terms of reference (ToR) to formally start negotiations for an FTA.
    The ToR outline the scope and modalities of a proposed trade pact.
    Both sides have appointed their chief negotiators for the trade pact negotiations.     Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce, Brij Mohan Mishra, is the chief negotiator from the Indian side. Bruce Christie is Canada's chief negotiator.
    India's exports to Canada rose 9.8 per cent to USD 4.22 billion in 2024-25 from USD 3.84 billion in 2023-24.
    Imports, however, declined 2.33 per cent to USD 4.44 billion in the last fiscal year from USD 4.55 billion in 2023-24.    

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)