Canada’s foreign minister is in India this week on her first official visit as both countries take more steps to normalise bilateral ties.
On Monday, Anita Anand met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who told her that the visit would strengthen “efforts to impart new momentum to the India–Canada bilateral partnership”.
She also met her Indian counterpart S Jaishankar, after which Delhi and Ottawa announced a host of steps to strengthen their relationship, including starting ministerial-level discussions on bilateral trade and investment.
The visit marks a significant milestone for the countries after relations had hit an all-time low in 2023.
In September that year, then prime minister Justin Trudeau accused India of being linked to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader on Canadian soil, setting off a diplomatic firestorm. India angrily denied the allegations and relations hit rock bottom as both countries suspended visa services and expelled each other’s top diplomats.
Canada is home to nearly 1.7 million people of Indian origin and the developments were being watched anxiously in both countries.
But signs of a thaw have appeared this year after Prime Minister Mark Carney took over.
In June, Carney and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit held in Canada. Two months later, the countries appointed new high commissioners to each other’s countries.
Anand and Jaishankar also met each other on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session in New York in September.
Anand also met her Indian counterpart S Jaishankar on Monday [X/MEA]
On Monday, Jaishankar said that India-Canada bilateral relations have been steadily progressing in the last 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 advancing this relationship now and in the long term, particularly when it comes to our mutual priorities in the Indo-Pacific,” Anand said.
The two countries will resume the Canada–India CEO Forum, which brings together executives from both countries to increase bilateral trade and investment. The announcement comes as Delhi deals with the strain of a hefty 50% tariff imposed by US President Donald Trump on Indian goods.
Anand is also set to meet India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to discuss boosting trade ties. She will visit Mumbai to speak to business leaders about investments and economic opportunities.
She will then travel to China and Singapore as part of Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy that focuses on deepening the country’s engagement in the region.
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