India-Canada relations going through difficult phase, says EAM Jaishankar

Minister of External Affairs  (MEA) S Jaishankar on Sunday said that the government had invoked parity with Canada in diplomatic presence as they had “concerns about continuous interference in our affairs by Canadian personnel”.
 

While speaking at the Kautilya Economic Conclave closing plenary session, Jaishankar said: “Parity is very much provided for by the Vienna Convention, which is the relevant international rule on this. In our case, we invoked parity because we had concerns about continuous interference in our affairs by Canadian personnel.” 
 

The external affairs minister also said that India is likely to resume issuance of visas to Canadians if it sees progress in the safety of Indian diplomats in Canada.
 

Delving into geopolitical upheavals witnessing the world, Jaishankar said the ripple impact of what is taking place right now in West Asia is still not entirely clear.
 

The external affairs minister said the consequences of various conflicts in a globalised world spread far beyond immediate geographies while citing the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war.
 

Any expectation that conflicts and terrorism can be contained in their impact is no longer tenable, he added. “In different regions, there are smaller happenings whose impact is not inconsequential,” he said.
 

Talking about the challenge of dealing with various forms of violence, Jaishankar said: “There is also the less formal version that is very pervasive. I am speaking about terrorism which has long been honed and practised as a tool of statecraft.” 
 

“The basic takeaway for all of us is that given the seamlessness of our existence, any expectation that conflicts and terrorism can be contained in their impact is no longer tenable,” Jaishankar said.
 

“A big part of this is clearly economic, but do not underestimate the danger of metastasis when it comes to radicalism and extremism,” he added.
 

No danger is too distant anymore, the external affairs minister noted. 
 

Jaishankar said, “The unipolar world is a distant history. The bipolar world was even more distant in the bipolarity of the US-Soviet Union. And I don’t think US China will really end up bipolar. I think there are too many, as I said, too many next-run powers with sufficient clout and autonomous activity and regions of their own dominance and privacy...”
 

The ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations last month of a “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June.
 

Days after Trudeau’s allegations, India announced temporarily suspending issuance of visas to Canadian citizens and asked Ottawa to downsize its diplomatic presence in the country.
 

Canada has already withdrawn 41 of its diplomats from India.
 

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, announcing the return of the diplomats from India, on Thursday described New Delhi's action “contrary to international law,” and in violation of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations. India has already rejected the charge.
 

Jaishankar said the relationship between India and Canada right now is going through a difficult phase, adding that India has problems with certain segment of Canadian politics.