NEW DELHI: India and Canada agreed to restore diplomatic services nearly two years after Ottawa accused New Delhi of alleged involvement in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader, which turned into a row straining relations between the two countries.
\nThe announcement was made after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart, Mark Carney, met Tuesday on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Kananaskis, Alberta.
\n\u201cThe leaders agreed to designate new high commissioners, with a view to returning to regular services to citizens and businesses in both countries,\u201d a statement from Carney\u2019s office said.
\nHigh commissioners are senior diplomats, representing their country\u2019s interests and fostering relationships with the host nation.
\nModi and Carney reiterated the importance of a bilateral relationship based on mutual respect and a commitment to the principle of territorial sovereignty, according to the statement. They also discussed further collaboration in several sectors, including technology, digital transition, food security, and critical minerals.
\nMeanwhile, India\u2019s foreign ministry underscored the importance of restarting senior ministerial engagements to \u201crebuild trust and bring momentum to the relationship.\u201d
\nCarney\u2019s predecessor, Justin Trudeau, shocked the world in September 2023 after announcing in Parliament there were credible allegations about India\u2019s link to the killing of Hareep Singh Nijjar near Vancouver. New Delhi vehemently denied the allegations and accused Trudeau\u2019s government of harboring extremists.
\nThe Indian government had declared Nijjar a terrorist in 2020 under a law meant to suppress dissent. The Sikh independence advocate was a prominent member of the Khalistan movement, banned in India, to create an independent Sikh homeland. He was seen as a human rights activist by Sikh organizations.
\nTies between the two countries continued to worsen and in October, India expelled Canadian diplomats and withdrew its high commissioner and other officials from Canada. Ottawa retaliated by dismissing Indian diplomats and accusing the Indian government of an intensifying campaign against Canadian citizens, a charge New Delhi denied.
\nIndia\u2019s anxieties about Sikh separatist groups have long strained its relationship with Canada, where some two percent of the population is Sikh.
\nModi Calls Trump
\nAs Trump abruptly left the G7 summit, Modi had a detailed phone conversation with the US president and shared India\u2019s military response against Pakistan last month following the killings of 26 innocent people, mostly Hindu men, in Indian-controlled Kashmir, foreign secretary Vikram Misri said.
\nIn recent weeks, Trump had claimed to have brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan and offered trade concessions in part to make the nuclear-armed rivals reach an agreement after shooting at each other for days, which was checkmate by New Delhi. Trump had also proposed mediation over Kashmir.
\nIn a statement, Misri said Modi clarified to Trump that India had never in the past accepted nor would it encourage in the future a third-party mediation over the simmering dispute of Kashmir, a Himalayan region claimed by both India and Pakistan in its entirety.
\nMisri said Modi made it clear to Trump that during multiple talks held between New Delhi and Washington senior officials amid the ongoing military conflict, there was no mention of a trade deal or the US mediation over Kashmir.
\nThe talks to stop military actions were held directly between the military leaders of India and Pakistan through existing channels, Misri said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEW DELHI: India and Canada agreed to restore diplomatic services nearly two years after Ottawa accused New Delhi of alleged involvement in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader, which turned into a row straining relations between the two countries. The announcement was made after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart, Mark […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":484996,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-484995","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n