According to the official reports, India and Canada have agreed to achieve an annual bilateral trade target of 15 billion dollars by 2015 to encourage two-way flow of investments.

Saying that it should be seen as an important step in bringing the two economies closer together, Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Stephen Harper welcomed the submission of the report of the Joint Study Group to study the feasibility of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on Sunday.

They have directed their officials to examine the report and expedite the next steps, both leaders said.

The two leaders were committed to expanding a range of activities and institutional frameworks that will contribute to the shared goal of increasing bilateral trade, said a joint statement issued after the bilateral meeting.

It has also been reported that both leaders also committed themselves through the joint statement to take the next steps in the Memorandum of Understanding to establish a Joint Study Group on CEPA.

The two leaders, welcoming the conclusions of the report in which substantial potential economic gains have been identified, noted the recommendations made and said the two countries would examine the necessary processes for obtaining approvals immediately and expressed the hope that this would be completed by October this year.

It was further reported that Both Prime Ministers'' also announced their commitment to go ahead with an annual dialogue on trade and investment at the commerce ministerial level and also welcomed the possibility of holding an India-Canada CEO Roundtable later in the year. (With Inputs from Agencies)