Canada, India pledge to expand oil and petroleum trade ahead of Mark Carney’s New Delhi visit

Canada and India will commit to expanding their trade in oil and gas as both countries look to deepen their relationship after friction between the two sides led to a diplomatic freeze for more than a year. The Canadian side will pledge to ship higher volumes of crude oil, liquefied natural gas and liquified petroleum gas to India, while New Delhi will export more refined petroleum products to Canada, Bloomberg News reported.

These commitments by both sides will be followed by a meeting between Canadian Energy Minister Tim Hodgson and Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, according to a joint statement seen by Bloomberg News.

The ministers are set to meet at India Energy Week in Goa on Tuesday and are expected to release a "ministerial energy dialogue." The forum once served as a key platform for energy cooperation between the two countries, but lost its relevance after tensions between the two countries escalated over the killing of a Canadian Sikh activist.

The developments come in the backdrop of President Donald Trump's animosity towards Canada and threats to sharply raise tariffs, prompting Ottawa to look for partners beyond the United States. Under these circumstances, Canada seems to pursue its ties with India as a key strategic and economic partnership in a shift from former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's approach, which looked at New Delhi as a rival and took actions which led to deterioration in ties between both countries.

Canada, under PM Mark Carney itendes to diversify its trade to reduce its dependence on the United States to protect its sovereignty from President Trump's territorial ambitions and Coercive economic policies targeting North American allies.

Carney to visit India

As part of the new approach, Canada improved its relationship with India in the recent past, and to further deepen ties with New Delhi, Carney is expected to visit the country and hold talks with PM Narendra Modi. The Canadian PM is likely to visit New Delhi after India presents its Union Budget in parliament on February 1, according to Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Patnaik. Both countries are expected to ink agreements on deepening its partenership in trade, minerals, Uranium, and artificial intelligence.