Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand Arrives in Delhi

This is Anand’s first visit to India after assuming office as foreign minister in May. He is also scheduled to meet Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to discuss ways to strengthen two-way trade ties.

“This visit will help increase the positive momentum in India-Canada relations by revitalizing our bilateral mechanisms, deepening economic cooperation and further strengthening the enduring people-to-people ties that strengthen our partnership,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement to X. he said.

New Delhi will be the first stop of Anand’s three-nation tour, which will also take him to China and Singapore.

A statement issued in Canada on Saturday said Minister Anand will meet Jaishankar and Goyal in New Delhi and “both countries are moving towards establishing a framework for strategic cooperation on issues such as trade diversification, energy transition and security.”

“Minister Anand will also travel to Mumbai, India, where he will meet with Canadian and Indian companies working to support investment, job creation and economic opportunities in Canada and India,” the statement said.

The Canadian foreign minister’s visit comes more than three weeks after Canadian National Security Adviser Nathalie Drouin visited India and held extensive talks with her Indian counterpart Ajit Doval.

Days after the Doval-Drouin meeting, Canada designated the Lawrence Bishnoi gang as a terrorist entity for “violently targeting” certain communities and creating “an environment of fear and intimidation.”

The renewed vigor in relations between the two countries followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s talks with his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney on the margins of the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Canada, in June.

India-Canada relations hit rock bottom following allegations by then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about India’s potential involvement in the 2023 murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

India rejected Trudeau’s accusation as “absurd”.

In October last year, India recalled its high commissioner and five other diplomats after Ottawa tried to link them to the Nijjar case.

India also expelled the same number of Canadian diplomats.

But Liberal Party leader Carney’s victory in the parliamentary elections in April helped start the process of resetting relations.

Both sides have already appointed their high commissioners to each other’s capitals.

The two countries also decided to revive various mechanisms to advance relations in various fields.

According to a statement from Canada, Minister Anand will meet with his counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan in Singapore to further strengthen cooperation with “one of Canada’s most important partners” in Southeast Asia.

While both countries are celebrating the 55th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations, it was stated that China will meet with Foreign Minister Wang Yi to maintain bilateral relations.