India and Canada on Friday are holding the fifth Ministerial Dialogue on Trade and Investment (MDTI).

The meeting is being co-chaired by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Mary Ng, Canada’s Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business, and Economic Development.

During the meeting, various bilateral trade and investment issues are expected to be discussed to further strengthen the ties and economic partnership including India-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry in an earlier release had said India and Canada will be holding the 5th Ministerial Dialogue on Trade and Investment from March 10-13.

According to the release, there has been a strong recovery in bilateral trade in 2021 after the fallout as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with bilateral trade in goods reaching USD 6.29 billion registering a growth rate of 12 per cent as compared to the previous year.

Total bilateral trade including goods and services crossed USD 11 billion. In the current financial year during April 2021-January 2022, Indian exports to Canada have increased to USD 3 billion approximately registering a growth of almost 25 per cent over the previous year.

Major Indian exports to Canada include drugs and pharmaceutical products, iron & steel products, marine products, cotton fabrics & readymade garments (RMG) and chemicals etc, while key Canadian exports to India comprise pulses, fertilizers, coal and crude petroleum, etc. (ANI)