Speaking during his three-day visit to Ottawa, Goyal said New Delhi and Ottawa were also targeting a sharp increase in bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030 from current levels, following renewed political engagement between the two countries.
“We had the visit of Canadian PM Mark Carney in India just a couple of months ago. It completely changed the way India and Canada looked at each other. It has set in motion the pathway of this relationship, setting a new agenda, new goals in mission mode,” Goyal said while addressing the media alongside Canada’s International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu, as per an ANI report.
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“Our PMs have tasked us with not only completing the free trade agreement with a comprehensive outlook before the end of this year or earlier but tripling our trade to $50 billion by 2030,” he added.
The minister’s visit comes amid a broader thaw in India-Canada relations after months of diplomatic strain, with both sides intensifying political and economic engagement since mid-2025. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to India earlier this year is widely seen as a turning point in rebuilding ties and reviving CEPA negotiations.
In a post on X, Goyal said he called on Carney and conveyed greetings from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, adding that the Canadian leader’s recent India visit had imparted “fresh momentum and renewed confidence” to the bilateral partnership.“We had forward-looking discussions on further deepening bilateral cooperation and expressed optimism towards the early conclusion of the India-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which would unlock new avenues of growth and prosperity for both nations,” Goyal wrote.
The Indian minister also held bilateral talks with Sidhu on advancing CEPA negotiations, saying both sides had directed their teams to work towards a “balanced, commercially meaningful and ambitious agreement” that would benefit businesses and citizens in both countries.
Separately, Goyal met Canada’s Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Heath MacDonald to discuss expanding cooperation in food security, agri-tech, sustainability and food processing. He said the discussions focused on boosting incomes of Indian farmers and producers through deeper collaboration.
Goyal arrived in Ottawa accompanied by what he described as the largest-ever Indian business delegation to travel abroad, with representatives from 112 Indian companies participating in the visit. The delegation includes firms from sectors such as energy, mining, aerospace, telecom, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, tourism, textiles, automotive and capital goods.
The visit is expected to focus heavily on energy cooperation, with officials identifying India’s growing energy demand and Canada’s natural resource base as a strong area for long-term partnership. Discussions are also expected around civil nuclear cooperation, clean energy transition, artificial intelligence, technology partnerships and innovation ecosystems.
India and Canada had formally relaunched CEPA negotiations earlier this year after talks had remained stalled for several years amid diplomatic tensions.