India, Canada to restart trade talks, bolster ties

India and Canada unveiled a road map to reset their relations and agreed to resume trade and investment talks as Canadian foreign minister Anita Anand met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and external affairs minister S Jaishankar on Monday to normalise ties hit by the row over the killing of a Khalistani separatist two years ago.

- Rezaul H Laskar

The talks between the two foreign ministers was a followup to a meeting between Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney in June, when the two sides agreed on steps to restore stability to bilateral ties after a prolonged diplomatic spat, and several other meetings between officials in recent weeks.

Modi said on social media that he and Anand discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in trade, technology, energy, agriculture and people-to-people exchanges for mutual prosperity. According to an Indian readout, Modi said her visit will contribute to efforts to impart new momentum to the bilateral partnership.

Modi recalled his visit to Canada in June for the G7 Summit, when he held an "extremely productive meeting" with Carney. He also conveyed his wishes to Carney and said he looked forward to their upcoming engagements.

Anand said on social media that India and Canada are building on the momentum of Carney's meeting with Modi and elevating their relationship while "maintaining our law enforcement and security dialogue and expanding our economic relationship".

Anand is the first Canadian minister to visit India since ties were derailed when former prime minister Justin Trudeau alleged in September 2023 that Indian government agents were linked to the killing of Khalistani activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a charge New Delhi dismissed as "absurd". India is the first stop on a three-nation tour that will also take her to Singapore and China.

Jaishankar said both sides had drawn up an ambitious roadmap to drive cooperation in trade, investment, agriculture, technology, civil nuclear collaboration, AI, critical minerals and energy.