Jaishankar, Anand meet at UN, eye $70 billion India-Canada trade by 2030

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Canada's Foreign Minister Anita Anand met in person on the sidelines of the ongoing United Nations General Assembly (UNGA-81) session in New York. The meeting focused on strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries. Ties between the two nations had seen ups and downs in the recent past, but the meeting signalled a resolve to expand partnership in the economic, strategic and technology sectors.

After the meeting, Jaishankar shared photos and a short video of the meeting between representatives of both countries on the social media platform X. He wrote in the post, "Very happy to meet Canada's Foreign Minister Anita Anand on the sidelines of UNGA-81. Our discussion was productive and constructive in taking the relationship between our two countries to a new and higher level."

Although the meeting was formal in nature, it is expected to have significant implications for international politics. The process of translating diplomatic contact between the two countries into concrete agreements in areas such as trade, defence, green energy, security and higher education is now moving forward rapidly.

Over the past year, ties between India and Canada, the two large democracies, have shown a positive shift. In October 2025, during Anita Anand's visit to India, both countries had announced a joint strategic framework. This was followed by high-level visits by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to Mumbai and New Delhi, which gave fresh momentum to the relationship. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Mark Carney had also agreed on a clear agenda to expand economic and strategic cooperation between the two countries.

Under this agenda, both countries have expressed their resolve to complete a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) by 2026. According to estimates from Canada's foreign ministry, the proposed agreement aims to take annual bilateral trade between the two countries to 70 billion dollars by 2030. The agreement covers not just trade in goods and services but also cooperation in investment, agriculture and food processing, digital technology, cyber security, people-to-people contact and sustainable development.

The biggest milestone in this improving relationship is the strategic energy partnership between India and Canada. Both countries have announced they will work together in areas such as LNG, LPG, solar energy, hydrogen and nuclear fuel. The biggest commercial success in this regard is a 2.6 billion dollar uranium supply agreement. Under this agreement, Canadian company Cameco will supply about 22 million pounds of uranium for India's civil nuclear power generation between 2027 and 2035. The agreement is considered significant given India's growing energy needs and its push towards clean energy.

The investigating agencies of both countries have also decided to coordinate on national security, counter-terrorism action, international crime, drug trafficking and cyber crime. The meeting between Jaishankar and Anita Anand also emphasised safeguarding the interests of over 1.8 million people of Indian origin living in Canada for education and jobs, and ensuring students from both countries get better opportunities for higher education.