India, Canada hit reset: To revive trade talks, pick high commissioners

While Carney raised the issue of “transnational crime and repression, security, and the rules-based order”, he said he needs to be “careful” about commenting on Nijjar’s killing as there is a judicial process underway.
Responding to a question on whether he spoke to Modi about Nijjar’s killing, Carney said: “We have had a discussion, the Prime Minister and I, about the importance of having the law enforcement to law enforcement… cooperation directly, the importance of addressing transnational repression, as I noted, including when we met… And obviously, there is a judicial process that’s underway and I need to be careful about further commentary.”

This was Modi’s first visit to Canada in a decade. “Had an excellent meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney. Complimented him and the Canadian Government for successfully hosting the G7 Summit. India and Canada are connected by a strong belief in democracy, freedom and rule of law. PM Carney and I look forward to working closely to add momentum to the India-Canada friendship. Areas like trade, energy, space, clean energy, critical minerals, fertilisers and more offer immense potential in this regard,” he posted on X.

Carney described his bilateral meeting with Modi as “important”. “But I would describe it as foundational, as a necessary first step, an exchange of views, frank, open exchange of views around law enforcement, transnational repression, an agreement to provide the necessary foundations to begin to rebuild a relationship based on mutual respect, sovereignty and trust,” he said.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the meeting provided an opportunity for both sides to hold frank and forward-looking discussions on the state of India-Canada relations and the way ahead.

“The leaders reaffirmed the importance of India-Canada ties, based on shared democratic values, respect for the rule of law, and commitment to upholding the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. They underlined the need to pursue a constructive and balanced partnership, grounded in mutual respect for concerns and sensitivities, strong people-to-people ties, and growing economic complementarities. In this regard, both sides agreed to take calibrated and constructive steps to restore stability in the relationship, beginning with the early return of High Commissioners to each other’s capitals,” it said.

The two sides “underscored the importance of restarting senior ministerial as well as working-level engagements across various domains to rebuild trust and bring momentum to the relationship… The leaders also discussed the importance of restarting the stalled negotiations on the Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA), with a view to paving the way for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). They agreed to task their respective officials to engage further in this regard,” it said.

The MEA said the leaders discussed opportunities for future collaboration in areas such as “clean energy, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, LNG, food security, critical minerals, higher education, mobility, and supply chain resilience”. They reaffirmed their shared interest in promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific, it said.
Both leaders acknowledged the important progress made at the G7 Summit and the shared willingness to work constructively together on global priorities such as climate action, inclusive growth, and sustainable development.
“The leaders underlined the deep people-to-people connections between the two countries and agreed to leverage this living bridge to the benefit of both countries,” the MEA said, alluding to the visa issues between the two countries. They agreed to stay in touch and looked forward to meeting each other again at the earliest opportunity, it said.

In a statement, Canada’s PMO said Carney and Modi “reaffirmed the importance of Canada-India ties, based upon mutual respect, the rule of law, and a commitment to the principle of sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
“The leaders agreed to designate new high commissioners, with a view to returning to regular services to citizens and businesses in both countries,” it said.

The Canadian statement said they discussed “strong and historic ties between our peoples, partnerships in the Indo-Pacific, and significant commercial links between Canada and India — including partnerships in economic growth, supply chains and the energy transformation. Prime Minister Carney raised priorities on the G7 agenda, including transnational crime and repression, security, and the rules-based order”.

“The leaders also discussed opportunities to deepen engagement in areas such as technology, the digital transition, food security, and critical minerals,” it said.

–With PTI inputs from Canada