Indian and Canadian negotiators are rushing to iron out differences in a long-stalled foreign investment protection pact in time for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the North American nation, an unnamed Indian government source said to news agency Reuters.

PM  Modi arrives in Canada tomorrow for a two day visit, the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister in 42 years. "The negotiation teams are working even today in Ottawa," the source with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Negotiations for the agreement, which seeks to protect legal rights of Canadian and Indian investors doing business in the two countries, were concluded in June 2007, but it has yet to be ratified.

Concerns in New Delhi over certain provisions of the negotiated pact, which allow a foreign investor to sue the host country at an international dispute settlement agency, are believed to be the reason behind the deadlock.

Several investors have taken the Indian government to international arbitration in recent years, citing provisions of bilateral investment protection agreements.

The two countries are also negotiating a free trade agreement, but progress has been slow.