New Delhi: During the G-7 summit, PM Narendra Modi and Canadian PM Mark Carney had a bilateral meeting. This was the first face-to-face meeting of the two leaders after Carney took office. Both the countries agreed to send their High Commissioners back to each other's capital soon. The Ministry of External Affairs said that in this meeting, there was a frank and positive discussion on India-Canada relations and the future direction. Both the leaders reiterated the importance of relations between India and Canada, which are based on democratic values, respect for law, and the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Ministry of External Affairs told what happened
The Ministry of External Affairs said that the two leaders understood the mutual respect and sensitivities and stressed the need to pursue a balanced and constructive partnership. At the same time, emphasis was laid on resuming dialogue at the level of senior ministers and officials in various fields so that mutual trust is restored and relations gain momentum.
Emphasis also laid on restoring mutual trust
The two leaders discussed opportunities to enhance cooperation in key areas such as clean energy, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, LNG, food security, critical minerals, higher education, movement of people and supply chain in the future. They also reiterated their shared vision of promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
Agreement to resume talks stuck on EPTA
Along with this, there was also agreement to resume the talks stuck on the initial trade agreement (EPTA) and move forward towards the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). For this, both the leaders asked their respective officials to hold further talks.
The two leaders noted the significant progress made at the G7 Summit and their desire to work together on global issues such as climate change, inclusive growth and sustainable development. The two leaders underlined the deep people-to-people ties between India and Canada and agreed to further strengthen these in the interest of both countries.
