NEW DELHI: India and Canada are preparing to take their bilateral relationship “to a higher level”, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said after meeting his Canadian counterpart Anita Anand on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.Jaishankar described the discussion as “productive” in a post on X on Saturday, sharing a video of his meeting with Anand. “Always a pleasure to meet FM @AnitaAnandMP of Canada #UNGA81 A productive discussion as we prepare to take the relationship to a higher level,” Jaishankar said.The meeting came days after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said India and Canada were making “good progress” in trade negotiations and indicated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi could visit Canada around December.“We are making good progress in our trade negotiations with India. It is an exceptionally important relationship on many many levels, people-to-people levels, security levels, and also trade and economic,” Carney said at a press conference on the sidelines of the UNGA earlier this week.Carney said the two countries had committed at the G20 last year to “look to conclude negotiations by the G20 this year”. The proposed trade agreement aims to more than double bilateral trade to 70 billion Canadian dollars annually by 2030.US President Donald Trump is scheduled to host the G20 Summit on December 14-15 at the Trump National Doral Miami resort in Florida.
India-Canada ties
Relations between India and Canada deteriorated under former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau after he said in September 2023 that Canadian security agencies were investigating an alleged link between Indian government agents and the killing of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia. India rejected the allegation.The dispute resulted in reciprocal diplomatic expulsions and a reduction in diplomatic personnel.In July this year, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said it had found no evidence linking Indian government officials to Nijjar’s killing.Ties have since shown signs of gradual normalisation under Carney, who became prime minister in March 2025. Modi and Carney agreed in June last year to take calibrated steps to restore stability in bilateral ties, followed by the return of high commissioners and a series of high-level engagements.In March this year, the two governments said there had been “significant progress” towards the gradual normalisation of relations.Anand, who is of Indian origin with family roots in Tamil Nadu and Punjab, has held several meetings with Jaishankar since becoming Canada’s foreign minister in 2025.During his engagements in New York, Jaishankar also met Venezuelan Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia Gonzalez and discussed energy cooperation and regional issues. “Our energy ties are gaining momentum, besides other areas of bilateral cooperation. We also discussed current regional issues,” Jaishankar said after the meeting.He also met Belarus Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov and Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco Alvarez.Jaishankar is in New York for the 81st session of the UN General Assembly and addressed the session on Saturday.
