India Canada bilateral meet

In a bilateral meeting with Canadian Minister of International Trade and Minister for Asia – Pacific Gateway Mr Edward Fast, Union Minister of Commerce, Industry & Textiles, Anand Sharma suggested that substantial pension funds in Canada – private and public – could be usefully channeled through the Infrastructure Debt Fund. It is to be noted that both the sides have finalised a tripartite agreement for an infrastructure debt funding mechanism linking both lenders and borrowers through the IDF. The IDF would source most of its funding from pension funds, insurance funds and sovereign wealth funds. The issue of Social Security Agreement was also discussed during the meet. Further during the meet of Canada's Minister of State for Democratic Reforms Tim Uppal and Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi, India and Canada also explored ways to further improve people-to-people contacts and address issues raised by PIOs (Persons of Indian Origin) living in Canada. The bilateral trade between India and Canada during 2011 stood at USD 5.216 billion as against USD 4.088 billion in 2010, registering an increase of 28.35% over the year 2010. In 2011, India’s exports to Canada showed an increase of 25%, while the imports from Canada registered an increase of 31.7%, over 2010. The total bilateral trade for the first eight months of this year stood at USD 3.640 billion – a 16.4% increase as compared to the same period for last year. The meet also discussed ways to increase bilateral trade volume to USD 15 billion in the next three years. Both countries are holding negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement that would yield significant economic benefit and lower tariff on a large number of products for both the countries.