Modi announces defence dialogue as India, Canada deepen strategic, economic ties

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said India and Canada will expand cooperation in defence manufacturing, maritime domain awareness and military exchanges, and announced the creation of a bilateral defence dialogue.

Speaking at a joint press conference with his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney after their talks in New Delhi, Modi described growing defence and security collaboration as a reflection of “deep mutual trust” and the maturity of ties. He said both sides had agreed to institutionalise the India-Canada Defence Dialogue.

Welcoming Carney on his first visit to India as Prime Minister, Modi termed the trip an important milestone and recalled their earlier interaction during the G7 meeting in Canada last year. He noted that relations had gained fresh momentum since then, marked by increasing trust and positivity.

The two leaders set an ambitious target of raising bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030 and agreed to work towards the early conclusion of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which Modi said would boost investment and create jobs in both countries. He highlighted that Canadian pension funds have already invested about $100 billion in India, signalling confidence in India’s growth.

Modi said cooperation in agriculture value addition, agri-technology and food security would be strengthened, including plans to establish an India-Canada Pulse Protein Centre of Excellence in India.

He also welcomed Canada’s decision to join global clean-energy initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance and the Global Biofuel Alliance, adding that the two countries will host an India-Canada Renewable Energy and Storage Summit this year. In the civil nuclear sector, the sides have signed a long-term uranium supply agreement and will collaborate on small modular and advanced reactors.

Emphasising the importance of people-to-people ties, Modi said new partnerships between universities in areas such as artificial intelligence, healthcare, agriculture and innovation are being launched, alongside plans for Canadian universities to establish campuses in India.