Canada reaffirms India’s status as its key partner

Canada’s foreign minister has reaffirmed the status of India as a “key partner” for her country, a day after she accused greater powers of “walking away” from global economic cooperation and integration.

Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at their bilateral meeting on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, on Saturday. (Credit: Anita Anand/X)In a statement released by Global Affairs Canada on Sunday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand noted “India’s importance as a key partner” for her country as it was “one of the world’s fast-growing and most dynamic economies”.

Anand’s statement was in the context of her bilateral meeting with external affairs minister S Jaishankar on Saturday on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly or UNGA on New York.

Jaishankar said they had a “productive discussion as we prepare to take the relationship to a higher level.”

The readout said, “Building on nearly 80 years of diplomatic relations and strong people-to-people ties, the ministers welcomed the significant progress made on implementing the Canada-India roadmap, which sets out shared objectives across trade, security, energy, mobility, innovation and defence.”

It added that they “emphasised their commitment to strengthening ties and advancing shared priorities through the continued implementation of the roadmap.”

It came a day after Anand addressed UNGA and said, “Great powers are walking away from global economic cooperation, and dismantling economic integration. Great powers want the rest of us to accept what we are offered.”

Her speech echoed what Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has stressed as a “rupture” in the global system rather than a “transition.” “We are exploring new opportunities with partners in the Indo-Pacific, the Gulf, and Latin America. This includes building renewed partnerships with large economies, such as India and China,” she said.

She said that as Canada could “no longer afford to be overly reliant on any one partner”, it was “diversifying” ties and “building stronger relationships with new and old partners alike, so that our people can enjoy peace and prosperity.” “We will prioritise decisive, effective action by forging issue-based coalitions of nations that share a sense of urgency on common challenges,” she elaborated.

Anirudh Bhattacharya is a Toronto-based commentator on North American issues, and an author. He has also worked as a journalist in New Delhi and New York spanning print, television and digital media. He tweets as @anirudhb.Read More