India’s PM Modi expected to visit Canada in December to sign trade deal, envoy says

India’s PM Modi expected to visit Canada in December to sign trade deal, envoy says STEVEN CHASE SENIOR PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER PUBLISHED 40 MINUTES AGO Open this photo in gallery: Prime Minister Mark Carney with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, in June. CHRISTOPHER KATSAROV/THE CANADIAN PRESS COMMENTS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Listen to this article Learn more about audio Log in or create a free account to listen to this article. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Canada in December to sign a completed trade deal between the two countries, New Delhi’s envoy says. Dinesh Patnaik, India’s High Commissioner to Canada, said in an interview on Tuesday he expects a free-trade agreement under negotiation will be completed by November and that his country’s leader will arrive in Canada the following month to ink the deal. Mr. Patnaik said he expects Mr. Modi and Prime Minister Mark Carney will end up signing other agreements on defence and aerospace during this visit. As well, he said he expects more to be agreed to as part of the “Talent and Innovation Strategy” unveiled in February to deepen educational links between Canada and the subcontinent. The envoy said details of the visit are still being confirmed. Canada launched talks on a deal to lower trade barriers with India in November, 2025, as part of Mr. Carney’s push to reduce economic dependence on the increasingly unpredictable and protectionist U.S. government under President Donald Trump. Rita Trichur: Trump factor spurs Canada and India to make progress on trade negotiations Mr. Carney used his first official visit to India as Prime Minister earlier this year to repair a diplomatic rupture with the country of 1.4 billion that began under his predecessor. Justin Trudeau in 2023 publicly accused India of a role in the gangland-style slaying of Canadian Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – a charge New Delhi has denied. International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu said Monday that discussions with India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal during his recent visit to Mumbai had driven “real progress” in the trade talks. Mr. Patnaik said his goal as envoy to Canada is to ensure that “fringe issues” do not dominate New Delhi’s relationship with Ottawa. He wants ties to be defined by “strong people-to-people bonds,” trade and economic relations and mutual investments from energy to artificial intelligence to health. Tensions…