Bilateral relations between India and Canada could get a major boost next year, with as many as eight Canadian cabinet ministers and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expected to visit to attend G20 events. The first major visitor to India will be Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, who is expected in India in March 2023 and is likely to hold bilateral talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. The two ministers spoke last week and a senior Canadian official said: “The call was positive and the ministers look forward to seeing each other soon in 2023.”
Joly can also participate in the Raisina Dialogue, organized by the Observe Research Foundation (ORF), with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Another government minister who may attend this multilateral conference will be Canada’s Minister of National Defense Anita Anand. While there is no defense-related vertical at the G20, Anand, who is of Indian origin, is also expected to arrive in March. Several other government ministers will travel to India in the months ahead of the G20 summit, which will see Trudeau return to India for the first time since February 2018.
Canadian High Commissioner to New Delhi Cameron Mackay, who is currently in Ottawa, tweeted after the meeting with Joly that they had a “great discussion” including how to “deepen relations”. “2023 is going to be a great year,” he added. This optimism is shared by others familiar with the India-Canada corridor. Former Indian High Commissioner to Ottawa Ajay Bisaria said, “2023 should be a year of important renewal of the Indo-Canadian strategic partnership. There should be stronger geopolitical and geoeconomic alignment.”
Bisaria opined that with Trudeau and eight cabinet ministers scheduled to visit India, “bilateral initiatives should be pushed especially on economy, energy, technology, climate and defense issues.” We should also be able to address irritants and iron out the wrinkles in mobility and safety. India’s instinct will be to creatively address bilateral issues even as it builds consensus on global issues as the G20 chair.
A major problem to overcome will be Canadian territory allegedly used by pro-Chalistan elements, including the separatist Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), who have already voted twice in the country for the so-called Punjab referendum.But both India and Canada are increasingly willing to look beyond the issue, a senior Indian official said, to forge closer ties, particularly aimed at formalizing the Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA) next year.
