Toronto, Mar 26 (IANS): Even before road transport and infrastructure minister Kamal Nath winds up his visit here, a high-level Canadian business delegation begins a four-day visit to India from March 29.
Led by John Manley, former deputy prime minister and current CEO and president of the Canadian Council of CEOs, Roy MacLaren, former federal minister and Canada-India Business Council chairman, the business mission will "directly engage" the Indian private sector to boost trade ties.
The delegation, which will visit Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, will do the groundwork for the signing of the proposed foreign investment protection agreement (FIPA) and comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) as well as a civil nuclear deal between the two countries.
It will hold discussion with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, chambers of commerce and leaders of private sector groups and software giants.
"We will ask the Indian private sector to push the Indian government to work expeditiously to conclude these agreements with Canada. The Indian parliament has yet to ratify FIPA. We will seek its quick ratification," MacLaren told IANS.
A friend of India, MacLaren, who has served as Canada's revenue minister as well as international trade minister, said: "During Prime Minister Stephen Harper's visit to India in November, the two governments had set up a joint study group on the economic partnership agreement but it has not gone far. We want this to be concluded at the earliest."
MacLaren, who has been to India dozens of times since his first diplomatic visit in 1958, said, "They will also push for the signing of a civil nuclear deal with India."
Canada-India Business Council president Rana Sarkar, who is organising the visit, said: "We will generate general support for the comprehensive economic partnership agreement by meeting chambers of commerce, think tanks, key ministers and business leaders such as the Tatas, Birlas, Infosys and Wipro."
Once signed, Rana said, the comprehensive economic partnership agreement will pave the way for a free trade agreement.
Though many Canadian federal ministers and premiers have visited India in the last 12 months, the two countries have yet to sign any substantial agreement to boost their annual trade beyond $5 billion.