India pushes trade ties with Canada, Nepal; inks rail pact with Kathmandu

India and Canada discussed ways to boost trade, promote investment, and deepen cooperation during talks between Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and his Canadian counterpart Maninder Sidhu. 

 

The two discussed considering "a new process" to rebuild trade ties at the 7th India-Canada Ministerial Dialogue on Trade and Investment. 

 

The discussion took place after after a series of meetings between leaders of both countries and just a day after external affairs minister S Jaishankar expressed optimism in rebuilding ties to his Canadian counterpart Anita Anand on the sidelines of the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Niagara. 

 

In October, Anand was in India for a diplomatic tour that involved a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During the visit, both the Canadian and Indian foreign ministers acknowledged that a robust ties between the two countries is vital amid ongoing global economic uncertainty and rising geopolitical tensions.

 

Attempts at renewing ties comes after ties severed following the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canada-based Sikh leader that the Indian government considers a terrorist, in June 2023. Negotiations for Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and Canada were subsequently suspended in September 2023.

 

India, Nepal inks deal

 

In a separate development, India and Nepal have inked a deal to boost rail trade connectivity.

 

In a bilateral meeting between Goyal and his Nepalese counterpart Anil Kumar Sinha in New Delhi, both countries interchanged a Letter of Exchange (LoE) amending the Protocol to the Treaty of Transit between India and Nepal.

 

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The move will facilitate movement of rail-based freight between Jogbani in India and Biratnagar in Nepal, including bulk cargo under an expanded definition. This liberalization extends to key transit corridors- Kolkata-Jogbani, Kolkata-Nautanwa (Sunauli), and Visakhapatnam-Nautanwa (Sunauli), aimed at strengthening multimodal trade connectivity between both the countries as well as Nepal’s trade with other countries.

 

The Letter of Exchange (LoE) enables direct rail connectivity along the Jogbani-Biratnagar rail link for both containerized and bulk cargo, facilitating transport from the ports of Kolkata and Visakhapatnam to the Nepal Customs Yard cargo station located in Morang District, near Biratnagar in Nepal. This rail link, constructed with grant assistance from the Indian Government was jointly inaugurated by the Prime Ministers of India and Nepal on 1st June 2023.