United Nations: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Canada around December this year, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said, underlining that Ottawa is making "good progress" in its trade negotiations with India. Carney made these remarks while responding to a question on when Prime Minister Modi will visit Canada and how close Ottawa is to concluding a free trade deal with Delhi.

"We are making good progress in our trade negotiations with India. It is an exceptionally important relationship on many, many levels, people-to-people levels, security levels, and also trade and economic," Carney said at a press conference on Tuesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly high-level session.

He said Prime Minister Modi and he had committed at the G20 last year to "look to conclude negotiations by the G20 this year".

US President Donald Trump will host the G20 Summit on December 14–15 at the Trump National Doral Miami resort in Doral, Florida. Carney said with the G20 Summit slated to be held in December, "I believe that India just confirmed that the Prime Minister will be visiting Canada around that time. The precise date isn't out, but I very much look forward to hosting him".

Prime Minister Modi last visited Canada to attend the G7 Summit in June 2025 at the invitation of Carney. 

India-Canada trade ties

Carney, an economist and political newcomer, took charge as Canada's new prime minister in March 2025 following the exit of Justin Trudeau from the top office. Ever since taking office, his chair has faced immese pressure from American side as US President Trump Donald Trump made multiple comments, damaging trade relations between the two neighbouring nations. Recently, US has imposed massive tariffs on Canadian goods. This posed a significant damage to the Canadian economy

Bilateral trade in goods in 2024 stood at USD 8.6 billion. India exported USD 4.2 billion and imported USD 4.4 billion worth of goods. Bilateral trade in services in 2024 stood at USD 14.3 billion, with India exporting USD 2.5 billion and importing USD 11.8 billion worth of services.

(Note: Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Daily Jagran staff. Credit: PTI)

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