Canadian Foreign Minister meets with Indian Prime Minister Modi amid thaw in relations

India and Canada agreed on a set of steps during talks between their foreign ministers in Delhi aimed at restoring relations that deteriorated after the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader on Canadian soil.

Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand, on her first official visit to India, met her counterpart S Jaishankar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Modi told her that the visit would strengthen “efforts to add new momentum” to the partnership between the two countries.

Relations reached their nadir in 2023 when then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of being linked to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nigarallegations denied by Delhi. Both countries Pending visa services and They drove senior diplomats away from each other.

Canada is home to approximately 1.7 million people of Indian origin, and developments are being watched with bated breath in both countries.

After their foreign ministers met in Delhi, the two sides announced a series of measures, including the start of ministerial-level discussions on bilateral trade and investment.

“Reviving this partnership will not only create opportunities to enhance economic cooperation, but will also help mitigate vulnerabilities arising from shifting global alliances,” a joint statement said.

There have been signs of improvement this year since Mark Carney took office as Prime Minister of Canada.

In June, Carney and Modi held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada. Two months later, the countries were appointed New High Commissioners to each other’s countries.

Anand and Jaishankar also met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York in September.

Jaishankar on Monday said that bilateral relations between India and Canada have witnessed steady progress in the past few months.

“When we look at Canada, we see a complementary economy. We see another open society. We see diversity and pluralism,” he said, adding that this was “the basis for a close, sustainable and long-term cooperative framework.”

“We are collectively committed to strengthening this relationship now and for the long term, especially when it comes to our shared priorities in the Indo-Pacific region,” Anand said.

The two countries will resume the Canada-India CEO Forum, which brings together CEOs from both countries to increase bilateral trade and investment. The announcement comes as New Delhi deals with a punitive 50% tariff imposed by US President Donald Trump on Indian goods.

Anand is also scheduled to meet Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to discuss strengthening trade ties, before visiting Mumbai to talk to business leaders about investments and economic opportunities.

She will then travel to China and Singapore as part of Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy focused on deepening the country’s engagement in the region.

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