Canada keen to boost ties, seal trade pact with India
Canada is keen to boost its business ties with India and is moving forward with attempts to seal a trade pact with the South Asian country, Canada's minister of infrastructure and communities told Reuters.
"There is an emphasis on signing a trade agreement with India," Amarjeet Sohi said in an interview on Tuesday. "The process was begun in 2014 and we are putting great emphasis on moving the discussions forward."
Sohi, speaking on the sidelines of Vibrant Gujarat - a big biennial investor gathering in the western state of Gujarat that is home to India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that two-way annual trade between the countries currently stood at C$8.3 billion ($6.3 billion) in 2015 and is set to grow steadily.
Trade flow with India has grown 30 percent from 2014 levels, but the size of bilateral trade between the nations is relatively small, at about one-tenth the size of Canada's annual trade flow with China, according to Statistics Canada data.
"India is absolutely critical for Canada to engage with, as it is not only a growing economy, but a major regional player."
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