United Nations, Sep 27: India and Canada are preparing to take their relationship “to a higher level”, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said after holding a “productive discussion” with his Canadian counterpart Anita Anand on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (UNGA).
“Always a pleasure to meet FM @AnitaAnandMP of Canada #UNGA81 A productive discussion as we prepare to take the relationship to a higher level,” Jaishankar said in a post on X Saturday, shared with a short video clip of the two having a conversation.
Earlier this week, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said at the UN that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Canada around December this year, noting that Ottawa is making “good progress” in its trade negotiations with India.
“We are making good progress in our trade negotiations with India. It is an exceptionally important relationship on many many levels, people-to-people levels, security levels, and also trade and economic,” Carney had said at a press conference Tuesday on the sidelines of the UNGA.
India and Canada had committed at the G20 last year to “look to conclude negotiations by the G20 this year”, said Carney while responding to questions on when Modi would visit Canada and how close Ottawa was to concluding a free trade agreement with India, aimed at more than doubling bilateral trade to 70 billion Canadian dollars annually by 2030.
US President Donald Trump will host the G20 Summit on December 14–15 at the Trump National Doral Miami resort in Doral, Florida.
India-Canada relations deteriorated sharply during the tenure of former prime minister Justin Trudeau, particularly after he said in September 2023 that Canadian security agencies were pursuing allegations of a potential link between agents of the Indian government and the killing of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia – a claim rejected by India.
The diplomatic row led to reciprocal expulsions of diplomats and a reduction in diplomatic personnel.
In July this year, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said it had found no evidence linking Indian government officials to the killing of Nijjar.
Relations between the two sides have shown signs of gradual normalisation since Carney took charge in March 2025.
The Canadian PM and Modi agreed in June last year to take calibrated steps to restore stability, followed by the return of high commissioners and a series of high-level engagements.
In March this year, the two governments said there had been “significant progress” towards the gradual normalisation of bilateral ties.
Anand, who is of Indian origin and whose parents came from Tamil Nadu and Punjab, has also held several meetings with Jaishankar since becoming Canada’s foreign minister in 2025.
Amid discussions in India regarding diversification of its energy sources, Jaishankar also met Venezuela Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia Gonzalez on the UNGA sidelines. After the meeting, he said: “Our energy ties are gaining momentum, besides other areas of bilateral cooperation. We also discussed current regional issues.”
He also met Belarus Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov and his Mexican counterpart Roberto Velasco Alvarez of Mexico.
