NEW DELHI: India is likely to pursue an investment commitment, similar to provisions in some of its latest free trade agreements (FTAs), under the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Canada, an official aware of the matter said.
“Both sides will sit together to decide what quantum of investment would be suitable,” the official told Business Standard on condition of anonymity as the discussions are private. “We have to see whether it can be $50 billion or $100 billion in the next 10-15 years,” the official said.
India has already incorporated foreign direct investment (FDI) commitments in some of its recent trade pacts. Under the recently signed agreement with New Zealand, it secured a commitment of $20 billion in FDI over 15 years, while the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) with the four-nation European Free Trade Association (EFTA) entails an FDI commitment of $100 billion over 15 years.
The discussions on an FDI commitment under the proposed trade agreement with Canada follow Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s visit to the North American nation last week. During the visit, Goyal met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Minister of International Trade Maninder Sidhu to expedite trade deal negotiations that resumed in March after a gap of more than two years.
Leading the largest-ever Indian business delegation to Canada, comprising more than 100 industry representatives, Goyal travelled to Ottawa and Toronto. He held discussions with leading Canadian business executives, including Fairfax Financial Holdings Chairman Prem Watsa, Manulife Financial Corporation President Philip Witherington and Sun Life President Kevin Strain, among others.
The minister invited Canadian companies to expand their engagement with India across sectors including financial services, critical minerals, artificial intelligence, telecommunications, clean energy, food processing and advanced manufacturing. The two sides also launched the India-Canada Trade and Investment Forum, a dedicated platform aimed at strengthening bilateral commercial ties.
Speaking at an event in Mumbai on Wednesday, Goyal said he had witnessed strong investor interest in India among Canadian business leaders during his visit.
“The reception we got, the excitement that we witnessed in Canada, the support for a free trade agreement, the investor interest that I saw when I met so many different pension funds, insurance companies, investors, was indeed very redeeming, very exciting,” he said.
Canada’s FDI into India has nearly doubled over the past four years. The North American nation was India’s 16th-largest source of FDI in FY26, with cumulative investment of $4.33 billion since April 2000, according to the latest data available with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
Canadian financial services company Fairfax, whose chairman met Goyal last week, is also said to have submitted a bid to acquire a 60 per cent stake in IDBI Bank, which is currently under the government’s strategic disinvestment process.
In a further sign of renewed economic engagement, Sidhu has announced that he will lead a trade mission to India later this year.
The two countries aim to conclude the free trade agreement by November and increase bilateral trade, which stood at $7.96 billion in FY26, to $50 billion by 2030.
Source: Business Standard
