Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal announced on Saturday that India will soon sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with Canada, another developed country.

Both countries have set a target of increasing bilateral trade to $50 billion in the next five years. Currently, trade between the two countries is $8.4 billion.

As stated by Goyal, “To take forward FTA negotiations, I will visit Canada between May 25 and 27 to meet the Prime Minister of Canada. Approximately 150 business people from India will join me to explore opportunities for investing in Canada.”

Currently, there are more than 600 Canadian businesses operating in India, which can rise to 1,000. There have been two rounds of discussions on an FTA with Canada.

Canada has a $2.4 trillion economy, with a per capita annual income of over $60,000. Therefore, India will have a significant opportunity to expand its trade there. Over 400,000 Indian students live in Canada.

On the other hand, Canada is a major producer of gas, oil, critical minerals, and uranium, which will help India purchase these items. Uranium will be purchased from Canada to advance its nuclear energy mission.

Goyal stated that Canada is very keen on a trade agreement with India, and this will help increase exports in employment-intensive sectors such as textiles, gems and jewelry, leather items, engineering goods, and pharmaceuticals.