Jaishankar to visit canada today for G7 ministers’ meet

India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will visit Canada on November 12 for G7 talks, marking a step towards normalizing bilateral ties.

New Delhi

Jaishankar to visit canada today for G7 ministers’ meet

External affairs minister S Jaishankar will visit Canada on November 12 to participate in a meeting of G7 foreign ministers, the external affairs ministry said on Tuesday, marking the continuing normalisation of bilateral ties.

Jaishankar will join the outreach session of the meeting for G7 partners in Ontario at the invitation of his Canadian counterpart Anita Anand.

His participation in the meeting reflects India’s continued commitment to working with international partners to address global challenges and bolster the “voice of the Global South in international fora”, the ministry said.

Jaishankar is expected to hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the G7 meeting.

The visit comes a little more than two months after India and Canada appointed new high commissioners in each other’s capitals as part of efforts to normalise relations hit by a diplomatic row over the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023.

The G7 meeting will focus on addressing pressing global economic and security challenges, Canada’s foreign ministry said last week.

There was a sharp downturn in relations after former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau accused Indian government agents of involvement in the killing of Nijjar. India dismissed the charge as “absurd” but the allegation took relations to their lowest point in years.

Jaishankar is expected to meet Anand during the visit - the third interaction between the two ministers in two months.

Jaishankar and Anand first met in September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, and again in New Delhi during Anand’s visit.

Following those meetings, the two sides unveiled a roadmap to reset ties and agreed to resume trade and investment discussions.