Jaishankar meets Canada's FM Anita Anand, vows to boost bilateral ties

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday welcomed Canada's new Foreign Minister Anita Anand on her first official visit after taking charge and said that India looks forward to advancing ties with Canada with a positive mindset, as was indicated by PM Modi during his meet with Canadian PM Carney earlier this year.

He made the remarks here in the national capital on Monday during the bilateral talks between the two leaders.

Jaishankar said, "India-Canada bilateral relations have been steadily progressing in the last few months. We are working to restore and reinvigorate the mechanisms necessary to advance our partnership. As Prime Minister Modi noted during his meeting with Prime Minister Carney in Kananaskis, India's approach is to move forward with a positive mindset."

He highlighted how a meeting had taken place earlier in the day between Anand and PM Modi, where Prime Minister outlined the vision of cooperation and how to realise it.

Jaishankar highlighted the wide-ranging discussions held between India and Canada through talks between the National Security Advisors, Foreign and trade ministries.

He said, "This morning you have met the Prime Minister, you have heard from him personally about our vision of cooperation and how best to realise it...So, when we look at Canada, we see a complementary economy, we see another open society, we see diversity and pluralism, and we believe that that is the basis for a close, sustainable and long-term cooperative framework."

Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand's visit to India aims to revitalise India-Canada bilateral ties, the Ministry of External Affairs noted in an earlier statement.

Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, stated that the visit aims to deepen partnerships across multiple domains, including economic cooperation, strategic dialogue, and people-to-people ties.

Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand arrived in Delhi on Sunday on an official visit.

In addition to Delhi, Anand will travel to Mumbai to engage with Canadian and Indian businesses fostering investment, job creation, and economic opportunities in both Canada and India, a release added.