India, Canada working on reinstatement of High Commissioners: MEA

New Delhi [India], June 26 : The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Wednesday stated that India and Canada are working to reinstate the High Commissioners to each other's capitals. The move follows efforts to normalise relations that had deteriorated sharply last year.

At a press briefing, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney had reaffirmed the importance of India-Canada ties during a meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Canada. He added that both sides agreed to take constructive steps to "restore stability" in the relationship.

"We had issued a press release when we had the last meeting of PM Modi with Prime Minister Carney, on the sidelines of G7 in Kananaskis in Alberta. Both leaders then 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. 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," Randhir Jaiswal said.

"That was what was agreed between the prime ministers. Both countries are now working on this particular matter," he added.

Diplomatic tensions between the two nations flared up last year after then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that his government had "credible allegations" of India's involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada in 2023.

India had strongly denied the charges, calling them "absurd" and "motivated." In response, India recalled six diplomats, including its High Commissioner to Canada, after they were labelled "persons of interest" by Canadian authorities investigating the killing. India also expelled six Canadian diplomats, including Canada's High Commissioner to India.

Nijjar was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023.

With Mark Carney now serving as the Canadian Prime Minister after Trudeau's resignation, both countries appear to be taking steps to improve ties. According to MEA, PM Modi and PM Carney had a "key meeting" at the G7 Summit where they discussed ways to restore and strengthen the bilateral relationship.

India and Canada also agreed to resume senior and working-level mechanisms and discussions in various areas, including: trade, people-to-people contact, connectivity and collaboration in key areas like, cooperating on clean energy and technology initiatives, collaborating on digital infrastructure projects, exploring opportunities for cooperation in artificial intelligence and discussing potential collaboration on food security and critical minerals.

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