India and Canada solidify their partnership with a landmark uranium supply agreement and discussions to finalise a comprehensive economic partnership, signaling stronger ties and cooperation on key global issues.
The launch of the US-India Economic and Financial Partnership on Tuesday is significant because the two countries have traditionally been wary of opening up their markets and services to each other.
Next week's three-nation foreign tour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will see India and Oman sign a free trade deal. The visit will also pave the way for agreements with Ethiopia and Jordan to increase India's bilateral trade and investments.
India and Israel have elevated their relationship to a special strategic partnership, focusing on enhanced cooperation in trade, technology, and defense, while also addressing regional peace initiatives.
India has been on an FTA-signing spree of late. Since 2021, it has signed eight trade agreements, three of which -- with the UK, Oman and New Zealand -- were finalised in 2025 alone.
The proposed trade deal with the 27-nation European Union (EU) is expected to provide zero-duty access to the $95 billion European market for Indian textile and apparel manufacturers. Currently, India's share of the European market is just 6 per cent, or $5.5 billion.
India finalised a free trade agreement with the UK, its 16th so far as the country aimed at boosting bilateral trade and investments. The other regions and countries with which India has signed such agreements include the four-nation European bloc EFTA, Japan, Korea and Australia.
India has protected the interest of domestic farmers and MSMEs by not extending any duty concessions on products across several sectors, including agricultural items such as dairy, as well as chocolates, gold, silver, jewellery, footwear, and sports goods, under the trade pact with Oman.
India and Canada are negotiating a long-term uranium supply agreement worth $2.8 billion. They are also exploring expanded civil nuclear cooperation after the passage of the SHANTI Bill.
The Indian government informed Parliament that India and the US are engaged in negotiations for a mutually beneficial multi-sectoral bilateral trade agreement. The two countries also cooperate on strategic, economic, and defense matters, managing divergences through high-level dialogues.
The PM's overseas visits in 2025 picked up sharply after May, particularly following Operation Sindoor.
Both India and the EU are likely to announce a conclusion of trade talks on January 27.
India needs to increase the investment rate to 34-35 per cent from 31-32 per cent currently to achieve a growth rate of 7 per cent and above, said S Mahendra Dev, chairman, economic advisory council (EAC) to the Prime Minister, on Wednesday.
Until now, one of the ways to get Dubai's Golden Visa from India was to invest in property whose value should be at least AED Two Million (Rs 4.66 crore), or invest a large amount in business in the country.
India and Canada have agreed to restore High Commissioners to each other's capitals at an early date, the first in 'calibrated steps' to restore stability to the 'very important relationship', Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's remarks come ahead of a high-level summit where India and the European Union are expected to formally announce the conclusion of negotiations on a comprehensive free trade agreement.
'...but I would not like to put a timeline to it'
'There are very few issues and a political call needs to be taken about some of them.'
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says India and the EU are close to a 'historic trade agreement' that could create a market of two billion people and account for almost a quarter of the global GDP.
'Given the lag in transmission, further softening of lending rates may happen in the coming months.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized the strong partnership between India and the UK, highlighting its importance for global stability and economic progress amidst global uncertainty. Discussions covered trade, defense cooperation, and geopolitical issues.
In their talks, Modi and Merz are likely to deliberate on trade and investment ties as New Delhi is looking at deepening economic engagement with Europe against the backdrop of Washington's 50 percent tariff on Indian goods, people familiar with the matter said.
The rupee plunged 26 paise to an all-time low of 90.75 against the US dollar in intra-day trade on Monday, weighed down by uncertainty over an India-US trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows.
China and Pakistan concluded their strategic dialogue, reiterating their opposition to unilateral actions in South Asia and discussing Kashmir, Afghanistan, and trilateral cooperation.
India and Canada aim at achieving a bilateral trade target of $15 billion in the next five years, even as both countries are beginning a series of negotiations to have a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) soon that would yield significant economic benefit for both countries and lower tariffs over a large number of products, says Peter Van Loan, Minister of International Trade, Canada.
India is keen to accelerate economic ties with Canada as both countries are working on a number of bilateral agreements that will boost trade and investment between them, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna has said.
The prime minister addressed a business luncheon hosted by Nippon Keidanren in Tokyo on Monday.
After a fruitful visit of US President Barack Obama, India is planning to initiate negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the country.
Japan is confident that a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement currently being negotiated with India would help the two countries dominate Asia's economic output in the future.
The Centre is regularly holding consultations with stakeholders to streamline foreign direct investments (FDIs) and foreign institutional investments (FIIs) related processes to enable faster and more efficient investment flows into the country, said Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, adding one such meeting with stakeholders was held on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented a tree sapling to King Charles III as part of his 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' environmental initiative during their meeting at Sandringham Estate.
India on Thursday signed a free trade agreement, officially dubbed as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), with the UK - its 16th trade pact so far - as the country aims to boost bilateral trade and investments.
'The biggest point of contention is market access for US agricultural and dairy products.'
Experts believe it would be far-fetched to believe that Riyadh would support Pakistan militarily in any conflict with India, which has robust strategic and economic relations with Saudi Arabia.
'In the Indian government there are no illusions about the United States reliability or the possibility of having any kind of preferential treatment from Washington when it comes to trade.'
'The logic every one of our neighbours must realise is that working with India will give you benefits, and not working with India has a cost.'
'India's farmers will be unable to compete with the US, given the subsidies that the latter provides its farmers.'
India will sign trade pacts with Japan and Malaysia within a week.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma is expected to visit Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur between February 14 and 18 for signing the pacts -- Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with Japan and Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement with Malaysia, an official told PTI.
This approval was given after a meeting of the Trade and Economic Relations Committee in New Delhi, Media Advisor to the PM Sanjaya Baru.
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