Canadian FM Anita Anand to visit India; trade, energy, security on agenda

Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand will hold talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, with the aim to strengthen bilateral ties

India and Canada are set to explore a framework for “strategic” cooperation in trade, energy, and security during Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand’s visit to New Delhi, starting Sunday, news agency PTI reported.

 

Anand will hold extensive talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, with the aim to strengthen bilateral ties across multiple areas.

 

New Delhi marks Anand’s first stop on a three-nation tour that will also take her to Singapore and China. In India, she will meet Jaishankar and Goyal as both countries “move toward establishing a framework for strategic cooperation on issues such as trade diversification, energy transformation and security”, according to a statement by the Canadian government.

 

 

Anand will also visit Mumbai to meet Canadian and Indian firms involved in investment, job creation, and economic opportunities in both countries.   

 

Recent developments in India-Canada ties

 

The visit comes just over three weeks after Canada’s National Security Advisor Nathalie Drouin visited India and held talks with her Indian counterpart, Ajit Doval. Shortly afterward, Canada designated the Lawrence Bishnoi gang as a terrorist entity for “violently targeting” communities and creating a “climate of fear and intimidation".

 

The renewed momentum in ties follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s discussions with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada in June. Relations had previously hit a low point after then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged a potential Indian link to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a claim India called “absurd".

 

In October last year, India recalled its high commissioner and five diplomats after Ottawa tried to link them to the Nijjar case. Carney’s victory in April’s parliamentary elections helped begin the process of resetting relations, and both countries have now posted their high commissioners in each other’s capitals and agreed to revive several mechanisms to advance cooperation, PTI reported.   

 

Singapore and China visits

 

After India, Anand will travel to Singapore to meet her counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan, aiming to deepen Canada’s cooperation with a key Southeast Asian partner.

 

In China, she will meet Foreign Minister Wang Yi to continue engagement as Canada and China mark 55 years of diplomatic relations. “This meeting builds on the commitment made by Prime Minister Mark Carney and the Premier of China, Li Qiang, to regularise channels of communication between the two countries,” the statement said.

 

The ministers are expected to discuss the Canada-China Strategic Partnership, the evolving bilateral and global context, and issues relevant to the Canadian economy.

 

(With agency inputs)