Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday expressed optimism that Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand’s visit to India would further energise efforts to reinvigorate the bilateral partnership between the two nations. Anand, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, met with PM Modi in New Delhi ahead of her discussions with India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar later in the day.
Welcoming Minister Anand, Prime Minister Modi recalled his visit to Canada in June this year for the G7 Summit, during which he held what he described as an “extremely productive” meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
“The Prime Minister noted the importance of deepening cooperation between India and Canada in key sectors such as trade, energy, technology, agriculture, and people-to-people ties. He conveyed his warm regards to Prime Minister Mark Carney and said he looked forward to their forthcoming engagements,” read a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.
Following the meeting, Minister Anand posted on X, “I met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi this morning in New Delhi. Building on the momentum of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s meeting with PM Modi this summer at the G7 Summit, Canada and India are elevating the relationship between our countries, while maintaining our law enforcement and security dialogue and expanding our economic relationship.”
Speaking after their meeting, EAM Jaishankar highlighted that India–Canada relations have seen steady progress in recent months and noted both countries are working to restore the necessary frameworks for enhanced cooperation.
Welcoming Anand on her first visit to India in her current role, Jaishankar stated, “India-Canada bilateral relations have been steadily progressing in the last few months. We are working to restore and reinvigorate the mechanisms necessary to advance our partnership.”
He reiterated Prime Minister Modi’s positive outlook following his meeting with PM Carney in Kananaskis, “As Prime Minister Modi noted during his meeting with Prime Minister Carney, India’s approach is to move forward with a positive mindset. This morning, you met the Prime Minister and heard directly from him about our vision for cooperation and how best to realise it.”
EAM Jaishankar also referenced recent security dialogues, including a “productive” meeting between Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his Canadian counterpart Nathalie G. Drouin, describing it as “an important first step towards enhancing our security cooperation.”
Further noting continued engagement between the two sides, he said, “Our foreign ministries, at the level of the Secretary and Deputy Minister, met on 19 September to review the overall relationship. Our trade ministers also held discussions recently, on 11 October.”
Highlighting the potential for stronger ties, Jaishankar added, “When we look at Canada, we see a complementary economy, another open society, one that shares our values of diversity and pluralism. We believe this forms the basis for a close, sustainable, and long-term cooperative framework.”
He confirmed that both sides are working on an ambitious roadmap to advance collaboration across sectors, including science and technology, civil nuclear cooperation, artificial intelligence, trade, and agriculture.
Acknowledging the presence of both nations’ high commissioners at the meeting, he said, “I’m glad that the two high commissioners have assumed their responsibilities in our respective capitals and are part of today’s meeting.”
Concluding his remarks, Jaishankar emphasised the shared responsibility of both foreign ministers to drive forward this renewed engagement, “Our responsibility as foreign ministers is to shepherd the process of rebuilding our cooperation and to ensure that it delivers on the expectations of our prime ministers and the interests of our people. It means not only taking initiatives in our own domains but also monitoring and integrating interactions across the entire breadth of government. I look forward to doing so, working closely with you, Minister.”
(With inputs from IANS)