As India has decided not to allow pro-Khalistan activities in Canada to retard the progress in relations between the two countries, especially when it comes to economic ties.
This was evidenced by Canada’s deputy prime minister and finance minister Chrystia Freeland meeting Indian finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the sidelines of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Gandhinagar on Sunday.
Tweeting after the meeting, Freeland described it as “productive”, and added that they discussed “economic cooperation and trade, reform of multilateral development banks, and the appropriate approach to crypto assets.”
India’s finance ministry tweeted they discussed the “progress being made on the ongoing various trade-related negotiations between India and Canada.”
It added that Canadian Pension Funds were “keen to explore investing in Indian Infrastructure Funds as India offers a stable investment climate.”
The meeting on Sunday came hours before the Greater Toronto Area or GTA witnessed voting in the so-called Khalistan Referendum. Organised by the secessionist group Sikhs for Justice or SFJ, it took place at the Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha in the Malton area of the GTA town of Mississauga.
Signalling that both countries want to pursue strengthening their relations, India’s High Commissioner to Ottawa Sanjay Kumar Verma told the Hindustan Times on Thursday, “The illegal ‘referendum’ by Sikh for Justice’, an organization proscribed under Unlawful Association Prevention Act of India, is a futile effort by those who want to derail the Canada-India relationship.”
{{/usCountry}}Signalling that both countries want to pursue strengthening their relations, India’s High Commissioner to Ottawa Sanjay Kumar Verma told the Hindustan Times on Thursday, “The illegal ‘referendum’ by Sikh for Justice’, an organization proscribed under Unlawful Association Prevention Act of India, is a futile effort by those who want to derail the Canada-India relationship.”
{{/usCountry}}The economic relationship will again be the focus when Canada’s International Trade Minister Mary Ng travels to India in August and is expected to meet Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in the margins of the G20 Trade Ministers vertical in Jaipur. In October, she will lead a Canadian trade mission to India. Both sides are trying to complete negotiations towards an Early Progress Trade Agreement or EPTA, an interim step towards the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement or CEPA.