Canadian foreign minister to visit India, advance bilateral roadmap with Jaishankar

Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand will visit India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from October 13 to 16 to advance bilateral cooperation, with talks in New Delhi expected to focus on trade, energy, security and defence ties amid efforts to strengthen relations between India and Canada.

Anand will meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during her India visit to discuss priorities under the bilateral roadmap. This would mark the 11th meeting between the two ministers since September 2025.

The visit comes as New Delhi and Ottawa work to expand economic and strategic engagement following a series of high-level exchanges this year. 

The two countries are pursuing negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), with a shared target of concluding the pact by the end of 2026.

Two-way trade between India and Canada reached $30.4 billion in 2025, including $11 billion in goods trade. Both sides have set a target of increasing annual bilateral trade to 70 billion Canadian dollars by 2030.

In September, Anand and Jaishankar met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where they reviewed progress on the bilateral roadmap and discussed trade negotiations and long-term energy cooperation, including renewable energy, critical minerals and civil nuclear energy.

The latest visit follows Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's trip to India in March, during which he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and agreed to deepen cooperation in trade, energy, technology, artificial intelligence, talent and defence. The two leaders also committed to accelerating CEPA negotiations, with the goal of doubling bilateral trade over the coming five years.

India and Canada have also stepped up security engagement. During a visit to India from October 5 to 7, Canadian Prime Minister's senior diplomatic and international affairs adviser David Morrison met National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. The two sides reviewed cooperation on law enforcement and security, including efforts to combat transnational organised crime, terrorism, cybercrime, human and drug trafficking, and extortion.