Jaishankar likely to visit Canada next week for G-7 meeting

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is likely to visit Canada next week to attend the Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers’ meeting, according to CNN-News18.

The meeting is scheduled for November 11–12 in the Niagara Region of Ontario, Canada.

Since Prime Minister Mark Carney assumed office, India and Canada have been working to reset their bilateral relationship. Under his predecessor, Justin Trudeau, ties had deteriorated sharply due to his patronage of the Khalistan movement.

In September 2023, relations hit a new low after Trudeau accused India of involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a designated terrorist. He told the Canadian parliament there were “credible allegations” in the case.

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In a rare breach of diplomatic protocol, Canada publicly identified an Indian diplomat as the head of the Research and Analysis Wing (RA&W) in Canada and expelled him. India responded by expelling Olivier Sylvestere, the Canadian intelligence chief in India, and ordered a downgrading of the Canadian diplomatic mission. Trudeau later escalated tensions by expelling the Indian ambassador, prompting India to respond in kind.

Top-level visits build momentum in India–Canada ties

Last month, Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand visited India and held talks with Jaishankar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Earlier in June, Modi met Carney on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Canada. The National Security Advisers of both countries have also held discussions.

This flurry of meetings is rooted in the guidance provided by Modi and Carney during their G7 meeting to “take calibrated measures to restore stability in the relationship and to pursue a constructive and balanced partnership grounded in respect for each other’s concerns and sensitivities, strong people-to-people ties, and growing economic complementarities”, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) previously stated.

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In August, India and Canada reinstated their high commissioners in each other’s capitals.

In a statement issued in June, the MEA said Modi and Carney discussed opportunities for future collaboration in areas such as clean energy, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, liquefied natural gas (LNG), food security, critical minerals, higher education, mobility, and supply chain resilience.

They also discussed the importance of restarting stalled negotiations on the Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA), with a view to paving the way for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), the MEA said.

Modi has invited Carney to visit India in February to attend the AI Impact Summit, according to Hindustan Times.