Canadian PM Carney to travel to India on Feb 26

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is scheduled to travel to India on February 26, with the aim of ''expanding'' ties with India and building new partnerships in defence, energy and AI. Carney will first visit Mumbai, then New Delhi, India, where he will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a press release issued by the office of the Prime Minister of Canada said. ''The leaders will focus on elevating and expanding the Canada-India relationship, with ambitious new partnerships in trade, energy, technology and artificial intelligence (AI), talent and culture, and defence,'' it said. Carney will meet with business leaders to identify investment opportunities in Canada and create new partnerships between businesses in both nations, it added. In 2024, India was Canada's seventh-largest goods and services trading partner, with two-way trade coming to USD 30.8 billion. At last year's G20 Leaders' Summit, Canada and India agreed to formally launch negotiations for an ambitious Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement that will more than double the two-way trade to USD 70 billion by 2030. The India-Canada relations hit rock bottom following then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations in 2023 of a potential Indian link to the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India had dismissed Trudeau's accusation as ''absurd''. In October 2024, India recalled its high commissioner and five other diplomats after Ottawa attempted to link them to the Nijjar case. India also expelled an equal number of Canadian diplomats. However, Liberal Party leader Carney's victory in the parliamentary election in April last year helped in beginning the process to reset relations. Both sides have already posted their high commissioners in each other's capitals.