\n<\/p>\n
India and Canada have agreed a host of steps at talks between their foreign ministers in Delhi aimed at restoring ties that plummeted after a Sikh separatist leader was assassinated on Canadian soil.<\/p>\n
Canada’s Foreign Minister Anita Anand, making her first official visit to India, met her counterpart S Jaishankar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.<\/p>\n
Modi told her the visit would strengthen “efforts to impart new momentum” to the two countries’ partnership.<\/p>\n
Relations hit rock bottom in 2023 when Canada’s then PM Justin Trudeau accused India of being linked to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar<\/a>, claims Delhi denied. Both countries suspended visa services<\/a> and expelled each other’s top diplomats<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Canada is home to nearly 1.7 million people of Indian origin and the developments were being watched anxiously in both countries.<\/p>\n After the meeting of their foreign ministers in Delhi, the two sides announced a series of measures, including starting ministerial-level discussions on bilateral trade and investment.<\/p>\n “Reviving this partnership will not only create opportunities for enhanced economic cooperation but also help mitigate vulnerabilities arising from shifting global alliances,” a joint statement said.<\/p>\n Signs of a thaw have appeared this year since Mark Carney took over as Canadian prime minister.<\/p>\n In June, Carney and Modi held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada. Two months later, the countries appointed new high commissioners<\/a> to each other’s countries.<\/p>\n Anand and Jaishankar also met each other on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session in New York in September.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n On Monday, Jaishankar said that India-Canada bilateral relations have been steadily progressing in the last few months.<\/p>\n “When we look at Canada, we see a complementary economy. We see another open society. We see diversity and pluralism,” he said, adding that this was “the basis for a close sustainable and long-term co-operative framework”.<\/p>\n “We are collectively committed to advancing this relationship now and in the long term, particularly when it comes to our mutual priorities in the Indo-Pacific,” Anand said.<\/p>\n The two countries will resume the Canada\u2013India CEO Forum, which brings together executives from both countries to increase bilateral trade and investment. The announcement comes as Delhi deals with a punitive 50% tariff imposed by US President Donald Trump on Indian goods.<\/p>\n Anand is also set to meet India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to discuss boosting trade ties, before visiting Mumbai to speak to business leaders about investments and economic opportunities.<\/p>\n She will then travel to China and Singapore as part of Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy that focuses on deepening the country’s engagement in the region.<\/p>\n Follow BBC News India on <\/i>Instagram<\/i><\/a>, <\/i>YouTube<\/i><\/a>, <\/i>Twitter<\/i><\/a> and <\/i>Facebook<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n