India, Canada agree to reactivate bilateral dialogues, work to reinstate diplomatic staff

In what is a clear thaw in the India-Canada relationship, both sides have agreed to "reactivate" key dialogues, suspended during former Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau's tenure, and reinstate diplomatic staff. The development comes during the visit of Canada's deputy foreign minister, David Morrison, to Delhi for key meetings with top Ministry of External Affairs officials, including foreign secretary Vikram Misri.

On Friday, MEA's Secretary East P. Kumaran and visiting Canadian deputy FM David Morrison held pre-foreign office consultations in the Indian national capital, and were joined by other top officials from both 2 sides, including AS, Americas division Nagaraj Naidu.

During the talks, both sides agreed to start "necessary steps to reactivate bilateral dialogue mechanisms" in trade, defence, energy, civil nuclear, security and law enforcement, critical minerals, space, science and technology, and agriculture, a statement announced. Both sides have also agreed to 'constructively address capacity-related issues' at respective missions and consulates. The announcement coincided with the talks between India's national security advisor Ajit Doval with his Canadian counterpart.

Remember, India-Canada ties deteriorated under Trudeau, who, under his Prime Ministership, alleged Indian involvement in the 2023 killing of India India-listed Khalistani terrorist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The action was seen by Delhi as part of Trudeau's domestic vote bank politics with support for Khalistani extremists. This led to diplomatic expulsions, reduction of diplomatic staff, and suspension of trade talks. A reduction of diplomatic staff meant a delay in visa issuance, impacting people-to-people ties.

A MEA statement said, that the pre foreign office consultations "provided an opportunity to review the state of India–Canada bilateral relations" as both sides "reaffirmed the importance of India–Canada ties, anchored in shared democratic values, respect for the rule of law" and "commitment to the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity", which basically means address India's concerns over Khalistani issues, something that Ottawa has assured regularly.

The Canadian government, through recent CSIS intelligence and Finance Ministry reports, has acknowledged Khalistani extremists using Canada for fundraising and planning violence against India. This marks a shift, validating India's concerns and prompting calls for enhanced security measures.

The key talks came amid restoration of the high commissioners, something that was announced during PM Modi and Canadian PM Mark Carney's bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit inKananaskis in June of this year. During the June talks, both leaders reached an understanding to restore stability in ties after months of public showdown.