Canada has suddenly suspended trade agreement talks with India. In just three months, the two countries said they wanted to sign a preliminary agreement by the end of this year.
Since 2010, India and Canada have been negotiating a trade agreement. This was often discussed between them. Then last year the talks officially started again.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will visit New Delhi next week. The talks were suspended just before that visit. In this regard, a Canadian government official said, “Trade negotiations are a long and complex process. This discussion has been suspended to understand where we are.
However, the Canadian government official did not want to be named and did not agree to say more than that.
India’s ambassador to Canada, Sanjay Kumar Verma, told Canadian newspapers last Friday that Ottawa sought a pause in the talks last month. However, he did not say anything about why they asked for this break.
In May this year, India and Canada said they wanted to sign a preliminary agreement by this year to boost bilateral trade. At the same time, they want to find out a working method to settle the mutual dispute.
Meanwhile, a top Indian government official said last month that India is planning to hold bilateral free trade talks with Canada on the sidelines of the G-20 summit. Justin Trudeau will visit India to attend this conference.
However, Reuters did not respond to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office and Canada’s Trade Minister Mary Ng for comment.
