New Delhi, March 3 (IANS) Industry body Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) on Tuesday welcomed the strengthening India‑Canada ties, especially resumption of negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which could significantly boost apparel exports to Canada.

Dr A. Sakthivel, Chairman, AEPC, said that the signing of CEPA could double the exports to Canada in next three years, besides creating huge opportunities for investment and job creation.

The comprehensive trade framework will be an economic anchor for expanding bilateral trade and reinvigorating investment based on economic complementarities, he added.

Apparel exports to Canada currently amount to $250 million.

AEPC welcomed the visit of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and his address to the CEO’s Forum alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reaffirming a shared commitment to strengthen bilateral economic engagement and pursue a mutually beneficial CEPA.

“The partnership offers a significant opportunity for sustainable energy production, making India an ethical and responsible sourcing destination,” Sakthivel said.

The stronger ties will also lead to transfer of technologies and R&D partnerships besides AI and automation which will help industry scale its production and improve upon the global compliances, the industry association said. Both leaders underscored the central role of skilling and talent mobility in advancing people-to-people ties between India and Canada, Chairman AEPC noted.

In New Delhi, Canada and India announced a “Strategic Energy Partnership” that will see Canadian company Cameco supply nearly 22 million pounds of uranium from 2027 to 2035 to fuel India’s civil nuclear reactors.

The Canadian government is explicitly tying CEPA to a goal of more than doubling two-way trade to $70 billion by 2030, a recent report said.

PM Modi and his Canadian counterpart discussed restoring diplomatic staffing levels in both countries to their previous strength, an official statement said.

After Carney took over as the Canadian PM, some calibrated steps to restore India-Canada ties have been taken, leading to the appointment of Dinesh K Patnaik as the Indian High Commissioner to Canada.

—IANS

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