Anand visits India marking first cabinet minister visit in 2 years – National

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand is in India, marking the first visit by a Canadian cabinet minister after two years of diplomatic strain.

Anand will address media this morning after meeting with her Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in New Delhi and with plans to meet business leaders in Mumbai.

On Monday Anand met with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying in a statement the meeting was about building on the momentum gained earlier this summer when Modi was visiting Canada at the G7 summit and met Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Anand also released a joint statement Monday with Jashankar, offering a road map to a stronger trade partnership between the two countries, once again reviving discussions that have started and stalled at various points since 2010.

Anand and Jaishankar say the meeting in New Delhi is continuing the conversation from earlier this summer and will “take calibrated measures to restore stability in the relationship.”

The two foreign affairs ministers say a “strong and resilient Canada-India bilateral relationship is essential” amid ongoing economic uncertainty and rising geopolitical tensions.

Anand’s meeting with Modi, along with Carney’s words with his Indian counterpart at the G7, are clear signs of a mend between India and Canada.

In September 2023, the Liberal government accused New Delhi of playing a role in the assassination of a Sikh activist near Vancouver earlier that year, and RCMP have since accused India of widespread criminality in Canada.

The chill began to lift slightly in June when Carney invited Modi to the G7 summit in Alberta and both countries agreed to restore their top diplomats.

As part of her visit, Anand also met with the Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal, who said he had a “productive discussion” last Saturday with Canadian Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu.

Sidhu says the two countries can collaborate on clean technology, agriculture and critical minerals, while Goyal says trade and investment “should be grounded in the principles of mutual respect, trust and balance.”

Both countries have agreed to enter closed-doors talks about security concerns, which Canadian officials have said are showing progress in managing concerns about transnational repression without those issues dominating the relationship.

Sidhu’s briefing binder, prepared by Global Affairs Canada in May, notes that India has contributed to the problems in the global trading order that Canada relies on, particularly on rules outlined by the World Trade Organization.

“Negotiations of major interest such as agriculture have long been stalemated. A handful of obstructive members, led by India, routinely block outcomes negotiated and desired by most members,” the binder reads.

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