PM Modi meets Canada FM Anita Anand, says visit to impart new momentum to bilateral ties

During the meeting, Modi recalled his visit to Canada in June for the G7 Summit during which he had a productive meeting with Canadian counterpart Mark Carney.

NEW DELHI: India and Canada unveiled a roadmap 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.

File photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canada's Foreign Minister Anita Anand.(X/Anita Anand)

The talks between the two foreign ministers were a follow-up 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 June visit to Canada for the G7 Summit, when he held an “extremely productive meeting” with Carney. He also conveyed his wishes to Carney and said that 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 Anita Anand’s 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. He noted he was holding talks with Anand after a “productive meeting” between the national security advisers of the two sides in New Delhi on September 18, another meeting of foreign ministry officials on September 19, and talks between the trade ministers on October 11.

“Had constructive discussions to restore and reinvigorate the mechanisms necessary to advance our partnership,” Jaishankar said on social media after the meeting. The two sides also agreed to “shepherd the process of rebuilding our cooperation so that it delivers on the expectation of our leaders and the interests of our people”, he added.

Anand noted at her meeting with Jaishankar that the recent meeting between Indian and Canadian officials on security and law enforcement was “very productive”. She said, “Both of our governments agree on the importance of those dialogues.”

People familiar with the matter said several meetings between Indian and Canadian security officials since late last year had helped close the gap on dealing with matters such as the activities of pro-Khalistan elements in Canada and concerns related to transnational organised criminal gangs. Canada recently added the Lawrence Bishnoi gang to its list of terrorist entities.

Measures outlined in the India-Canada joint statement or the new roadmap aim to build on recent steps to stabilise the relationship, such as the security dialogue and the posting of new high commissioners in each other’s capitals. The two sides will pursue a “constructive and balanced partnership grounded in respect for each other’s concerns and sensitivities”, the joint statement said in an apparent reference to India’s worries over pro-Khalistan activities.

Early initiatives in economic cooperation will include ministerial-level discussions on bilateral trade and investment, and the resumption of the Canada-India CEO Forum to identify ways to facilitate increased trade and investment, with a focus on clean technology, infrastructure, agri-food, and digital innovation.

Jaishankar and Anand agreed that a strong India-Canada bilateral relationship is essential amid “global economic uncertainty and rising geopolitical tensions”, the joint statement said. Reviving the partnership will boost enhanced economic cooperation and help “mitigate vulnerabilities arising from shifting global alliances” and “reinforce strategic stability in an increasingly complex international environment”, it said in a tacit reference to the churn created by the trade policies of the Donald Trump administration in the US.

Bilateral trade was worth $23.66 billion in 2024, and the two sides halted talks on a free trade agreement just before the relationship cratered due to the controversy over Nijjar’s killing.

The roadmap said the two sides will increase bilateral cooperation on climate action and environmental protection and collaborate on renewable energy capacity and decarbonising heavy industries, while simultaneously deepening collaboration on clean and secure energy by re-establishing the Canada-India Ministerial Energy Dialogue and promoting two-way trade for LNG and LPG and investments in oil and gas exploration and production.

The two sides will promote dialogue among government and industry on how Canada’s mining expertise can provide India with critical minerals and continue discussions in civil nuclear cooperation. The roadmap welcomed discussions between India’s Department of Atomic Energy and Canadian uranium suppliers on existing and proposed new mines.

The two sides further agreed to deepen collaboration in technology, including AI, and digital infrastructure. Early initiatives will include relaunching the Joint Science and Technology Cooperation Committee and exploring opportunities for digital public infrastructure cooperation.

They also agreed to strengthen cooperation in education, tourism and professional mobility through early initiatives such as collaboration in higher education and research, research partnerships in AI, cybersecurity and fintech, and a revitalised Joint Working Group on Higher Education.

Vikas Swarup, who was India’s high commissioner to Canada during 2017-19, said Anand’s visit came at a pivotal time in India-Canada relations. “It is good to see the two sides evolve a comprehensive roadmap for the all-round development of bilateral relations. The reset that started during the G7 Summit in Kananaskis is well and truly moving forward. “It is also significant that talks on security cooperation are moving forward under the leadership of the respective NSAs.”