New Delhi: India and Canada held their annual Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) at Hyderabad House on Wednesday, reaffirming their commitment to concluding a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) by the end of the year.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the high-level talks were co-chaired by Secretary (East) in the MEA Rudrendra Tandon, who led the Indian delegation, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Arun Thangaraj, who headed the Canadian delegation.
The two sides reaffirmed their resolve to expand bilateral trade to CAD 70 billion by 2030.
The MEA said the discussions reflected an accelerated pace of high-level exchanges and expanding cooperation across multiple sectors, highlighting the growing momentum in bilateral relations since June 2025.
Both sides emphasised that bilateral ties remain anchored in shared democratic principles, respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, and a mutual commitment to the rule of law, the MEA stated.
Highlighting the talks, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal wrote in a post on X, “Secretary (East) Shri Rudrendra Tandon and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Arun Thangaraj led their respective delegations at the annual India-Canada Foreign Office Consultations held in New Delhi today.”
He noted that the two sides “welcomed the progress in bilateral ties, growing cooperation across key sectors, and the strengthening of institutional engagement between the two governments.”
Jaiswal added that India and Canada also deliberated on regional and global developments of mutual interest.
Earlier last week, India expressed its readiness to initiate negotiations on a Bilateral Investment Treaty with Canada at the earliest, as Finance Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Francois-Philippe Champagne concluded the inaugural Canada-India Finance Ministers’ Economic and Financial Dialogue and discussed ways to expand bilateral trade to CAD 70 billion (INR 4.65 lakh crore) by 2030, as per the official joint statement released by the Ministry of Finance.
According to the joint statement, following the Inaugural Canada-India Finance Ministers’ Economic and Financial Dialogue, the dialogue focused on strengthening economic and financial cooperation between the two countries, including enhanced trade and investment.
The meeting builds on the commitment made by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their meeting in New Delhi in March 2026 to strengthen bilateral economic and financial cooperation, including the shared commitment to conclude Canada-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement talks by the end of 2026.
