It\u2019s not often that the leaders of two countries which have traded accusations of murder, extortion and terrorism meet only months later on friendly terms.<\/p>\n
But amid what he had described as a \u201crupture in the world order\u201d, Mark Carney<\/a>, Canada\u2019s prime minister, will on Monday meet Narendra Modi,<\/a> India\u2019s prime minister, to repair strained ties between their nations.<\/p>\n The visit marks a stark shift by both countries, which have been locked in diplomatic stalemates for more than a year and a half. It comes, however, as both countries find themselves locked in spats with their largest trading partner: the United States.<\/p>\n The India<\/a> visit marks Carney\u2019s second such trip in as many months. In January, Carney led a delegation of ministers and senior provincial leaders to China in an attempt to reset relations with Beijing, underscoring his government\u2019s efforts to hedge trade uncertainty with the US.<\/p>\n Carney has used much of his time in office signalling to other nations the need to restructure political and economic relations in the face of weakened international institutions<\/a> and shifting alliances.<\/p>\n Despite sharing the world\u2019s largest unprotected border and one of the most integrated economies on the planet, the US under Donald Trump<\/a> has repeatedly bullied Canada, prompting Carney to pledge a doubling of Canada\u2019s non-US exports within the next decade \u2013 hence his government\u2019s interest in India.<\/p>\n \u201cIndia is the most populous country in the world right now and by most accounts the fastest growing big economy in the world,\u201d said Partha Mohanram, director of the India<\/a> Innovation Institute at the University of Toronto. \u201cIt\u2019s a tremendous country to hitch your wagon to. Most other economies in the world, even if they\u2019re rich, are extremely stagnant because of demographics. A deal with India gives you a big piece of a fast growing economy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Both countries feel ill-treated by the US\u2019<\/p>\n Current trade between the two nations is negligible, valued at less than C$15bn, and Canada\u2019s Indo-Pacific strategy<\/a> identifies the country as a key trading partner in the region. Ahead of his visit to Delhi, Carney and his delegation held meetings with business leaders in Mumbai.<\/p>\n A senior Canadian official told the Guardian there was optimism a 10-year, US$2.8bn uranium supply deal could be one of the most significant and concrete outcomes of the trip.<\/p>\n India recently reached a truce with the US after disagreements over market access and India\u2019s high volume of Russian crude imports. But the unpredictability of how the White House respects its own agreements has cast uncertainty over how long that truce might last.<\/p>\n \u201cMisery loves company. Both countries can share the feeling of being ill-treated by the US,\u201d said Mohanram. \u201cBut there are also strengths in looking at each other. India is a massive importer of energy. Canada<\/a> is a massive exporter of energy. Right now, that makes Canada very attractive to India.\u201d<\/p>\n Mohanram says the two countries have significant areas of mutual cooperation and there are \u201ctremendous opportunities\u201d for both leaders.<\/p>\n Much of the groundwork for the visit has been handled by India\u2019s high commissioner to Canada, Dinesh Patnaik.<\/p>\n New Delhi is presenting the trip as firmly business-focused and Patnaik says \u201cboth the prime ministers are very keen, so the intent is there on both sides\u201d when it comes to strengthening economic ties.<\/p>\n India\u2019s eagerness toward the visit comes in sharp contrast to Justin Trudeau\u2019s blunder-ridden trip in 2018, when he received what many saw as a cool reception from the Indian government. The biggest embarrassment came when Jaspal Atwal, a Sikh separatist supporter convicted in Canada in 1987 for attempting to assassinate a visiting Indian politician, was invited to an event linked to Trudeau\u2019s delegation.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cRelations have transformed over the last few months \u2026 Since the last four to five months, we\u2019ve been working very hard to ensure that the relationship is reset to what it was before \u2026 This visit will put a stamp on all the activities that have happened to solidify the relationship and to take it to the next level,\u201d Patnaik said ahead of the visit.<\/p>\n Despite Modi\u2019s efforts to focus the trip on trade and business, questions over India\u2019s sustained campaign of transnational repression has put Carney in a challenging position.<\/p>\n